Friend of a friend
by Pam Elric
Summary: Syaoran had been in college for a year and a half already. Starting the new semester, though, he fiends out there’s people he hadn’t seen before. At first he sees in her just a friend of his friend, but will she become more? SS and ET
1. Hi, friendofEriol!

Greetings everyone! I know what you're thinking...but no, I'm no new author. In fact I'm an old one XD but I distanced myself from this stuff and now I've got some spare time so I'm back to spare it here. I don't have any of my old stuff uploaded, I remember I deleted everything before leaving the fanfic world, but don't worry, it wasn't really that good. I hope the new stories will be better, though. R&R People!!! Enjoy!!!

**Disclaimar** – I don't own the CCS cast. I wish I did XD but I don't. The rest I do.

**Sumary** – Syaoran had been in college for a year and a half already. Starting the new semester, though, he fiends out there's people he hadn't seen before. At first he sees in her just a friend of his friend, but will she become more?

**Chapter 1 – ****Hi, friend-of-Eriol!**

Slightly annoyed by the different degrees of happiness that all the people around him seemed to be experiencing, Syaoran paced through the corridor of the third floor of the third classroom building. He had just left the classroom where he was taking that annoying subject of Economy and Politics. He was studying engineering, for crying out loud! He hated those common classes that every single student had to take for the sake of some 'culture'. It wasn't his fault that the world was full of self-engulfed ignorant people, he thought.

Being the type of person he was, Syaoran didn't think too highly of the life he was living. Yes, he was handsome. Or so people told him. At least with his height and his strong body he accomplished some respectable image, along with his intense amber eyes and his messy but good looking brown hair. Still, he had very little reason to add a smile to all that. His looks and his grades didn't cheer him up at all.

Going down the stairs, he noticed a known face standing next to the path that led to the cafeteria. There he was, Eriol Hiragizawa, talking to some girl he hadn't seen before. He'd heard it from Eriol himself the last time they talked: he was into some girl he had just recently met. Maybe it was her, he thought. He had to find out.

"Hey Hiragizawa!" he exclaimed as he came in reach, a neutral expression on his face. Eriol turned around and it was then that Syaoran was able to see her: he couldn't deny it, she was beautiful. If it was her the one Eriol had been talking about, he sure knew how to pick them. She had one very cute pair of emerald shiny eyes, which perfectly adorned her innocent face. Her short, honey-colored hair was uneven but it suited her, he thought. It seemed like her own original style which gave her that little-girl look.

"Oh hey, Li! How are you today? Enjoyed yourself with some politics today?" asked his blue-haired friend with one of those soul-lifting grins of his. Syaoran always seemed to feel annoyed by it. How come he was smiling almost always? Had he no sense of reality? That Eriol…

"Yeah, right, like that could happen" he replied simply, again turning his gaze towards the girl. He mentally chuckled at her outfit, fascinated at the fact that this girl wasn't quite the fashion fanatic as many others he had seen up to now. She was wearing baggy jeans that hung casually from her hips, and a not-so-tight white blouse with dark blue sleeves that went all the way to her elbows. It was then that she caught his gaze and smiled at him sweetly, causing him to blush a little.

"You're taking the politics subject too? It's a real nuisance, isn't it? You should be taking it with Mr. Kings, he's quite the expert on the topic and makes the class a lot less boring" she commented, the sound of her sweet voice ringing in Syaoran's ears like music.

"Kings? Michael Kings? You're in his class?" he asked as soon as he snapped out of it. The girl nodded.

"Yeah, a friend of mine recommended him to me last semester so I took the advice and, honestly, I'm quite thankful. I was dreading that class like you have no idea"

"I bet I do. I'm studying computer engineering, so I'm basically not interested at all"

"Really? I'm studying that too!" she exclaimed happily, jumping with excitement. Syaoran's eyes widened in surprise. He was certainly not expecting that. Eriol hadn't told her about her and he was positive he hadn't seen women in their career.

"You…study…the same as Eriol and me?" he asked, obviously confused. Eriol chuckled at his facial expression.

"Maybe you hadn't seen her around because she's a year younger than us. This is only her first semester" he answered. Syaoran let out a small 'Oh' in acknowledgement.

"Yeah, I'm still a noob" she said, blushing a little. Syaoran couldn't help but think she looked extremely cute like that, but he quickly shook it off. She was Eriol's girl, for god's sake! Still…a girl engineer… he couldn't help but finding her extremely attractive.

"Uhm…yeah well…I wish you luck" he replied, turning towards the path that led to the other classroom buildings "Well I guess I'll be seeing you around. Later, Eriol! And uhm, bye…friend-of-Eriol!" he said sheepishly, waving a hand quickly at them before he left.

"Bye, friend-of-Eriol…" the girl replied, confused. Then she giggled a little. What a cute guy, she thought. Sadly, he never knew or even asked for her name. And she just knew his last name from Eriol. But maybe…just maybe they'd see each other again soon.

She smiled at the thought.

++++++++++++ 

Walking up the stairs towards the classroom where he had to take his next class, Syaoran accidentally bumped into someone. The books the other person had been carrying suddenly fell to the ground because of the impact, and he heard a small 'Ow', with a voice that could only come from a girl.

"Jeez, I'm sorry, I wasn't looking" Syaoran said sincerely, picking the girl's stuff up as quickly as he could. Once he had all six of them, he handed them over to the girl, who looked shocked. He stared back at her confused, her amethyst eyes fixed on him.

"Oh my god…Syaoran Li?" she asked. Syaoran was taken by surprise with this question. Did he know her? He didn't remember her, but there was something familiar about her…

"Uhm…yes? Do we know each other?"

"Of course we do, silly!" she exclaimed, a huge grin spreading through her face "Don't you remember me?"

"Could you at least give me some hints?"

"Jeez, Syaoran! So slow! It's me! Tomoyo Daidouji!" she said cheerfully. Syaoran gasped.

"Daidouji? Oh my god, it's been ages!"

"I know! I haven't seen you since elementary school! What's been up with you?"

"Oh not much…after I left for Hong Kong it was just the regular routine, school and training, back and fort. And now I'm back for college. My mother said I could study anywhere I wanted to and I chose Tokyo"

"That's so good to know!"

"What have YOU been up to?"

"Not much either, but I have to tell you, I met the greatest girl in the world! She even wears everything I design! And she's so sweet! We've been best friend since high school!" she exclaimed. Syaoran chuckled as he remembered Tomoyo and her cloth-designing fever.

"That's great. I bet you're studying Fashion Design"

"I'm so busted!"

"Oh come on, it was pretty obvious!"

"I know, I know. What are you studying?"

"Now there's something that isn't obvious: computer engineering"

"Oh, so you're quite the intellectual guy"

"I manage, I guess…"

"You know, you should meet this friend I'm talking about, she—" Tomoyo was interrupted by the bell ringing, which made Syaoran flinch.

"God, no! I'll be late for class! See you around, Daidouji! Nice seeing you again!" he exclaimed, running away towards his classroom. Tomoyo giggled, watching his back as he left.

"He definitely should meet her"

++++++++++++ 

Ok, I guess it was kinda short and nothing happened, but it's the first chapter after all…there's more to come, don't worry xD I hope you like it, please let me know what you think and what you would like to read. I could use suggestions xD I'll try to update again in a couple of days!


	2. It's you again!

Hello people!!! Thanks for the reviews, I'm glad some of you took the time to write those down so I'm taking some time too to reply nn

**sakuraK155** – Well I hope this is soon enough, I'm making an effort XD thanks!

**Sakura and Syaoran** – Ooooh…don't worry, this chapter will definitely answer for that XD It's an SS and ET as I promised.

**Wind G0dd3ss xD** – Thank you very much! nn

**Nihal **– Thanks! In fact, in case you find it interesting, that's how me and my boyfriend met xD the first thing he said to me was 'hey friend-of-Alan!' XD the rest of the story is gonna be made up, that's the only thing that's based on reality xD

Well again thanks a lot to the reviewers!!! And the rest of you people who don't review, I don't blame you XD but at least I hope you didn't hate it, have fun!

**Chapter 2 – It's you again!**

Again, while stood in line to get some decent-looking food at the cafeteria, he found himself thinking about her. He didn't know what was wrong with him. Sure, the girl was attractive, but he wasn't the kind of guy to fall at first sight. And definitely not because of looks. Still, he knew it had something to do with the fact that she was the only girl he knew that was up to the task of a career such as his. Not because he was discriminating women, but it was a fact that mostly men studied that. Girls seemed to get more into designing stuff than building it.

It also wasn't as if there were absolutely no other girls besides that one…but there were few and some of them he heard were not into guys, if you know what I mean. He had never understood that. What was it with computers that made their functioning so unappealing to girls?

Before he knew it, he got to the counter and ordered a chicken burger with fries. American food… it mostly made him miss China, because he knew food was a lot better there. And he was never too fond of Japanese food.

"Syaoran! Hey, Syaoran!" he suddenly heard someone calling him and, after taking the tray with his food on it, he turned around to see Tomoyo Daidouji, his recently encountered childhood friend, waving at him from a table on the other side of the cafeteria. He figured he might as well join her for lunch.

"Nice to see you again, Daidouji" he said as he sat across the table, right in front of Tomoyo. He placed his tray down next to hers, which had a plate of salad and a fruit juice on it.

"What's new with you? I haven't seen you around since Monday" said Tomoyo, taking a sip from her juice. Syaoran took a bite from his burger before answering.

"Nothing special, stuff to do here and there, you know. Catching up with mid-term projects"

"Oh I know what you mean! We have this big fashion event at the end of next month and I just can't seem to work as fast as I would like to!" she replied enthusiastically. Suddenly, and before Syaoran could add anything else, a stranger approached their table.

"Excuse me guys, are you using these?" the boy asked, pointing at the two spare chairs that were on each side of the square table they were sitting at. Syaoran was about to tell him he could take them, but Tomoyo beat him to it.

"Yeah, sorry, we're expecting company"

"Oh ok, thanks anyways" he replied, leaving. Syaoran stared at Tomoyo questioningly.

"We are?"

"Yes, I'm sorry I haven't told you, but I was actually gonna meet with two of my friends today"

"Oh, I see. Hey if you need space, I can eat some place else"

"None sense! There's just two of them coming and besides, I would love it if you met them. In fact, I'm quite sure you know Eriol Hiragizawa, he studies the same as you"

"Oh, Hiragizawa's coming? That's great, I haven't seen him today and there's something I really need to ask him about the technology management project that's due next Friday" Syaoran said, taking another bite from his burger. Tomoyo giggled.

"Syaoran, listen to yourself! You're sound like a business man"

"Come on, it's no big deal, I've always been responsible"

"I suppose it's a most for the heir of the Li clan"

"You don't say" Syaoran replied with a smirk.

"But besides that, I was meaning to ask you… how come you never call friends by their first name?" Tomoyo asked, putting a slice of tomato into her mouth. Syaoran raised an eyebrow.

"That's a weird question"

"It's not! I've always called you Syaoran, you said I could do so. Why don't you call me Tomoyo?"

"Well, I've never been that comfortable with a woman in my life, I guess. It's just polite behavior"

"And why don't you call Eriol by his name if he's not a girl?"

"Oh, that! That's because it annoys him" he replied with a small chuckle, taking a sip from his soda.

"Oh come on Li, I thought it was just the way you were" they heard a voice behind them. They turned to see Eriol approaching the table, holding a can of soda and a small box of noodle soup. He sat down on one of the empty chairs and placed his stuff on the table.

"Well I guess I just blew my cover" said Syaoran, still smirking. Eriol grunted, with a playful look on his face.

"Well it does annoy me! So just stop doing it"

"Whatever, _Hiragizawa_"

"Hey guys" Tomoyo interrupted "I'll be right back, ok? I want to check on my friend, I don't know what's taking her so long" she said, standing up and leaving the cafeteria to get a better signal on her cell phone. Eriol then turned to Syaoran with a slight grin.

"So I see you guys met"

"Uh?" Syaoran was confused at his statement.

"Yeah, I mean you and Tomoyo. What do you think of her?"

"What do I think of her? Daidouji? I don't know, she's nice… why?"

"She's the girl I was talking about the other day! You know, the pretty one, absolutely breath-taking where my exact words if I remember correctly" he reminded him, seeming a little anxious. Syaoran's eyes widened.

"It's her? Daidouji?"

"In how many languages do I have to repeat myself, Li? Yes, it IS her, Tomoyo Daidouji" Eriol replied, slightly annoyed and a lot more anxious to know what Syaoran thought about the girl.

"But I thought it was that other girl I saw you with last week…"

"Oh no, that was a girl in my Math class, she's just a friend of mine"

"I see…" Syaoran didn't know why, but he felt a great amount of relief at this statement.

"So? What do you think of Tomoyo?"

"Well I guess she's quite nice…she's also very pretty, so I think you made a nice choice"

"You don't like her, do you?"

"No, not like that. Sleep peacefully, my friend" Syaoran said, teasingly. Eriol sighed

"I'm sorry…It's just…she's so perfect, I don't want to lose her, and I definitely don't want someone to beat me to her"

"Then ask her out already, man!"

"I'm working on it"

"Back!" they heard Tomoyo say, as she walked back to the table, dragging a girl behind her. Syaoran immediately recognized her: It was the girl from the other day, Eriol's friend!

"Hi guys, I'm sorry for being late, I was speaking to my logic teacher" the honey-haired girl said, excusing herself as she sat down between Syaoran and Tomoyo. Syaoran just kept staring at her, wondering what was it in her that made him feel so weird. She had such a cheerful personality… it brightened his mood to see her smile.

"Oh, you're that guy from last week, Eriol's friend, right?" she asked suddenly, pulling him out of his thoughts abruptly. Syaoran nodded.

"Uh…yeah…" was all he managed to say.

"He's my friend too, I met him in elementary school!" Tomoyo said enthusiastically. Eriol looked surprised by this comment.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I studied elementary school at Tomoeda, that's where Daidouji's from" Syaoran explained. Sakura smiled widely.

"Oh, I wonder how come we never met! I was in Tomoeda too, but I attended a different school. In fact, it wasn't until high school that Tomoyo and I met"

"By then I was already back in China" Syaoran added. It was then that she did something that completely took him by surprise: she took his hand in hers. Immediately he felt his face burn, and he was sure he was blushing.

"I'm so glad we finally met then! We should be good friends!" she exclaimed, smiling sweetly at him. Syaoran stared back at her in awe. His heart was beating fastly and a whole river of emotions was flowing through him. He had never felt something like that in his life.

_What is wrong with me?_

++++++++++++ 

So this was a very quick update xD I said I had spare time, after all. Maybe I'll even be able to update tomorrow again, who knows? I'm having so much fun XD Please read and review!!! I'd really love to know what you guys think of it!!!


	3. Getting to know you

Heeeey!!!! I'm so glad you people are liking this!!! It's been so long since I wrote a fanfic, but it's good to know I still know how XD Well, after I begin with the next chapter, I'll answer to the reviews. There are not many but I appreciate them because they were very good!!!

**Nihal **– Yeah, they still don't know their names, I'm quite glad you noticed XD and I totally know what you mean about trying to overhear names, I think you'll have a laugh with this chapter about that xD And about me and my boyfriend…yeah, believe me, after two and a half years, we still find it amusing too xD

**Li-Saku-chan** – Thank you for the tip, I'll make this one longer, tell me if it's enough XD I just can't seem to measure the chapter's length well enough. Yeah, I love college, so many exciting things! To bad it's almost over for me XD

**lb** – Thank you, I'll keep it cute xD

**Sakura and Syaoran** – I'm so glad you liked it!!!! I hope you like the rest of it just as much!!!

Enough said! On with the story!!

**Chapter ****3 – Getting to know you**

While he was passing through the library to get to the computers on the second floor of that building, Syaoran spotted the girl sitting at one of the studying tables, alone and looking quite confused. He decided that, since he wasn't in a rush at the moment, he'd stop by and say hello. Having decided that, he approached her table.

"Hey!" was all he said, remembering at that moment that he still didn't know her name. She looked up at him and seemed quite excited to see him.

"Hello, Li! Nice to see you again!" she replied happily "Take a seat!"

"Sure" he replied, sitting down on the chair next to her. _Oh my god_ he thought nervously _She knows my name…and I don't know hers…I can't just ask! It would be rude…I mean, she bothered herself looking up mine and I don't know hers?_

"So…what brings you here?" she asked suddenly.

"Oh I was just in my way to the computers since I have a free period… are you busy? Because if you are, I can leave"

"Well…you could say but…" she looked away, blushing slightly "This is kind of embarrassing"

"What is it?"

"Uhm…I kinda…didn't understand a thing the teacher said today" she replied honestly, blushing a lot more than she was before. Syaoran blinked.

"What subject?"

"Object-oriented programming…"

"Oh…I see…yeah, it's pretty tough at the beginning. In fact it's tougher than Event-oriented programming. You'll see it next semester, it will be quite a relief" he commented, making her smile again. Syaoran felt himself melt from his insides. _That smile of hers…_

"Thanks, Li. I'll do my best, then" she said, her smile widening.

"Hey, if you want, I can teach you" he volunteered without thinking. She seemed quite surprised at this.

"You mean…you will help me with my homework?"

"Of course! I went through the exact same thing, don't worry, we'll get you through it!" he assured, feeling silly. _What the hell am I doing??_

"Really?"

"Sure! Don't worry about it!"

"I don't want to use up all of your time…you must have a lot of things to do…"

"As a matter of fact, I don't"

"You don't?"

"No, this semester seems to be a little loose for me, my classes are easier than the ones I took last semester so they don't take a lot of my time. I can spend some of my time on studying sessions with you" he explained. Although, for him, the last sentence he'd said could do better without the words 'on studying sessions'.

"Oh my god! Thanks a lot!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck. Syaoran's face turned a deep shade of red, feeling the warmth of her embrace all over his body. He was debating with himself whether or not to wrap his own arms around her waist, when she suddenly pulled away. He felt cold immediately, missing her touch. _I'm going mad_

++++++++++++ 

"So you asked her out already?" Syaoran asked him as they walked through the college gardens and towards the parking lot. Eriol scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Well, not exactly"

"So?? What happened then??"

"We were walking towards the classrooms and she…she…"

"She what?"

"She held my hand!"

"OH MY GOD, ERIOL! You're so pathetic!" Syaoran exclaimed. He'd decided to start calling Eriol by his first name, since he no longer got annoyed with the contrary. Eriol stared at him, looking offended.

"WHAT?! She held my hand, for crying out loud! That has to mean something, right?"

"It could mean a lot of things, it could mean you're becoming her best friend…"

"Oh no, not the best-friend curse again!"

"What can I say, Eriol? You're good at that…"

"Damn you, Li Syaoran"

"Just ask her out!" Syaoran insisted, as they reached the parking lot and stopped walking. Their cars were not in parked together and they had to finish their conversation before they went separate ways. Eriol sighed.

"Yeah, I'll do that. It's just…it's difficult, you know? I have never asked anyone out"

"You haven't?"

"No…I mean, you said it, didn't you? I'm everyone's best friend" Eriol admitted, staring sadly at his feet. Syaoran patted him on the back.

"Don't be so harsh on yourself, man. If it makes you feel better, I…" Syaoran took a deep breath, realizing that his confession was far more intimidating than what he had thought. He went on, anyways, for the sake of his friend "I have never asked someone out either"

"What? Really?"

"Really"

"Man, what are we? 20 and with no girls in our past"

"Actually, I'm 21" Syaoran corrected shyly. Eriol blinked twice.

"Oh god…"

"You gotta ask Daidouji" Syaoran insisted. Eriol looked up at him.

"Yes! I'll do it!" he exclaimed bravely. Syaoran patted his back.

"Good luck, man"

++++++++++++ 

Syaoran was in his car, heading outside the college parking lot, when he saw her. It was that girl again, the girl whose name he didn't know but occupied his thoughts constantly. She had headsets on her ears, listening to music, the source of it hidden inside her bag. She also carried a couple of books that looked quite heavy, and Syaoran recognized one of them as the Java Black Book. He chuckled at this. She sure was making an effort.

"Hey!" he said, as he pulled over next to her. She looked down at him and smiled.

"Hey Li! Nice car"

"Thanks. Want a ride?"

"Oh…you shouldn't bother, I can walk…"

"None sense, it's no bother at all. Hop in!" he said. She giggled and Syaoran opened the door for her to get inside.

"Thanks a lot" she said. Syaoran shook his head, focusing his sight towards the road again.

"Don't mention it" he said "By the way, is that book yours?" he asked. The girl blushed.

"Yes, I just bought it, the teacher told me it would help me understand a few things and it also works as reference"

"It does, I have it to. The Event-oriented programming teacher asks for it"

"Really? That's great! It was a good purchase then"

"All of those books are always good purchases for us" he said, as he quickly glanced at the book. It had a white label on its cover, which read 'Kinomoto Sakura'. _Gotcha!_ Syaoran thought proudly _Now I know your name_

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Anyways, I was quite happy, you know? Being able to buy it. I already even labeled it with my name" she commented. Syaoran didn't quite understand what she meant.

"It's fine, that way you won't lose it" he said, not knowing what else to reply.

"You're right. Oh, take a left turn right over the next street" she indicated. Syaoran obeyed, following her instructions. He didn't know exactly why, but he was awkwardly excited about knowing where she lived. _What's with this girl?_ He asked himself _She's getting to me_

"It's over there! That one with the black fence!" she signaled. Syaoran blinked in confusion. It wasn't a very nice street. In fact, it looked awful, and the house she was pointing at was not better. It looked like a really old house, and its fence didn't look very safe.

"You live here?"

"Yeah…I know it's not much" she said, while Syaoran stopped in front of the house "But my brother and father are making an effort to keep me here in Tokyo, I can't ask too much from them" she explained. Syaoran felt like an ass for just having mentioned something like that. Now he understood her comment about the book. Of course she was happy to be able to buy it, she didn't have a lot of money.

"Hey, if you ever need help, just ask, ok?" he said sincerely. Sakura giggled.

"Don't worry, I'm a strong girl"

"No doubts there" he said with a smirk. Sakura laughed at this.

"Thanks. Anyways, I was meaning to ask you…is your offer for studying sessions still up?"

"Of course! Whenever you're ready"

"What about tomorrow afternoon?"

"It's fine with me. It just has to be after five because that's when I get out of class"

"Sure, I'll wait for you at the library. I can bring Lapy"

"Lapy?"

"My computer. She's not much, she's an old model after all, but we can work with her" she said, blushing slightly. Syaoran grinned. It was amusing to listen to her talk about her computer as a person. A female person.

"Oh it's ok. I'll bring my laptop too and we can work with them" he replied, trying not to laugh at what she had just said, since he had the feeling it wouldn't be nice. Sakura beamed at him, a wide smile on her face. Apparently, she was glad that he didn't laugh.

"Ok! I'll see you then! Thank you for the ride, Li!"

"You're welcome…Kinomoto" he said, for the first time referring to her with her name. And then, something happened. Something he would have never been expecting. She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

"Bye!" she said, getting out of the car. Syaoran just sat there, frozen. It took him a moment to come down to earth and be able to ride away, towards his own place.

All the way he drove in silence, not even the radio disturbed the silence inside his car. Strangely, he was afraid. He was afraid to even think.

After a while, he reached his apartment. He entered, still with the same empty expression on his face, closing the door behind him and dropping the keys on the floor. He walked to his bedroom and dropped himself on his bed, facing the ceiling, his arms extended at his sides. His eyes were wide open, just staring blankly into space. Slowly, his right hand made its way towards his cheek, to touch the place where Sakura's lip had caressed him. Remembering this, he blushed deeply.

_She's just Eriol's friend_ he thought _I just met her and she's pretty…so it's natural that I'm feeling this way. I'm a guy after all_

Still, he knew it wasn't just the feeling someone gets near a pretty girl. Sakura was more than that. She was not just pretty, she was beautiful, and that innocent look of hers made her even more appealing. She was one attractive girl…an attractive engineer student, if that wasn't enough. A pretty girl who was also intelligent, he thought. And, for the clothes he had seen her wearing and the lack of make up, he could tell she was also a simple girl.

_Why can't I stop thinking about her?_ He asked himself _This isn't right…her eyes, her smile, her hair…why does she have to be so damn perfect?!_

He had just found out her name. Kinomoto Sakura. Sakura…it was the best name anyone could've thought of giving a girl like her. Her smile certainly was as soothing as watching the cherry blossoms at sunset, with the wind blowing on your face, the soft petals caressing your skin…as did her lips…

He couldn't stop himself from wondering what it would be like to kiss her. To feel those lips on his own instead of on his cheek, and not just in a light touch…

Syaoran got up abruptly, remaining seated on the edge of the bed for a moment, before reaching for the phone on the night table. He dialed and waited for someone to answer.

"Hello?" same a sleepy voice from the phone.

"Hey Eriol, it's me"

"Syaoran? What is it?" Eriol asked, stopping for a moment to let himself yawn "I was taking my afternoon nap, man"

"Eriol, I'm sorry, but this is important"

"Well, what's up?" Eriol asked, still not sounding very interested in the subject. Syaoran took a deep breath before speaking again.

"I think I'm in love"

++++++++++++ 

I really tried to make this chapter longer! I wasn't going to update as fast this time because I had plans to go out, but what do you know? I got sick and I'm stuck at home, lol. Anyways, hope you enjoy it! I know I enjoyed writing it. Please review!!! I love it when you do so!!


	4. That's new information

I'm so sad T-T I had no response for the last chapter even though this one took me longer to write…Oh well, if I have no response to this one I'll cut the story short. I guess I had better response at Shaman King fanfics XD I'll see what happens later.

Anyways, I really liked this chapter so I hope you like it better too! Enjoy!

**Chapter ****4 – That's new information…**

The sound of the bell that marked the end of the period had never brought so much happiness to Syaoran than it had that day. It was time. He was going to see her, the girl that invaded his thoughts. He knew it. After the talk he had had the night before with Eriol, he finally knew it for sure. He was in love with her. He still didn't really understood how it had happened so fast, one moment she was just another person he'd met, and the next moment, bam! He was in love with her, thinking about her all the time, melting at the very sound of her voice.

"Hey, Li! See you tomorrow!" one of his classmates told him, as he gave him a quick pat on the back and left. Syaoran waved back at him.

"Yeah, see you!" he replied absentmindedly, going the other way. He threw his back pack over his right shoulder and walked happily towards the library. He knew he looked like a dork. He was almost hopping, as if he was one of those ridiculous muppets going down the yellow-brick road.

_But I don't care_ Syaoran thought, almost flying down the stairs of the classroom building _Because I'm seeing her today! I'm seeing Kinomoto Sakura! I'm gonna look at her smile and laugh._

Syaoran got to the library and was at first startled by not seeing her there. He then looked at his watch…

**4:55**

_Ok, so I am early_ he thought _No need to worry, she'll be here at five_

Syaoran picked a table and dropped his stuff there, taking a seat.

**5:00**

_Great, she'll be here any__time_ Syaoran thought anxiously.

**5:05**

_Five minutes. What's five minutes? It's nothing, right? I could've been five minutes late myself if I had like…gone to the bathroom or something…_he thought, now even more anxious.

**5:15**

_Sometimes there's just an issue that you just like…need to settle in the moment and get delayed. She'll definitely be here anytime now._

**5:30**

_It's been half an hour! HALF AN HOUR! How much more delayed can anyone be out of unexpected circumstances?!_

**5:45**

_Maybe she forgot…no, she couldn't__ have forgotten, right? She told me she wanted to see me. Yes, she was the one that reminded me of my offer…_

**6:00**

Syaoran ran his hands through his hair. He knew he was making a mess of it but it didn't matter to him. It was always a mess anyways and he couldn't do anything about it. And besides, as things where going, Sakura wouldn't even see it. He felt like an idiot. He actually believed she would come. As if she had nothing else better to do. Such a pretty girl like her…he realized he didn't even know her at all. What if she had a boyfriend? That would make him the loser drooling at a committed girl.

He sighed. Yeah, that was probably it. And it had already been an hour, for crying out loud! She wasn't gonna show up…he had to be realistic about that. Thinking otherwise was just another way of torturing himself.

Syaoran felt terrible, but he knew it was stupid to keep waiting around. He decided he would leave and give her a call some other day.

_Wait a minute…I don't have her number…_ he thought, smacking his forehead with his open hand _I'm such a loser! Of course I don't have her number! I didn't even have her name! Sometimes I just-_

"Li!" he jumped at the sound of her voice calling his name. It was her, it really was! Just when he thought she wasn't coming.

"Sakura!" he exclaimed, after which he immediately smacked his hand against his mouth in shock, and Sakura seemed equally surprised: he had just called her by her first name. She smiled widely.

"Wow, I really had the wrong idea about you. I thought you were a guy that hardly trusted people but I'm so glad to hear you calling me Sakura!"

"I…I was j-just…"

"Can I call you Syaoran?" she asked, holding his hands in hers. He blushed.

"I-I guess it's ok…"

"Fine then, Syaoran!" she said, enthusiastically "First of all I wanted to apologize for being so late, I know it's terrible of me…" she explained, her smile quickly fading from her face to be replaced by a gloomy expression. Syaoran immediately felt concerned, staring at her while she placed her stuff on the table. He pulled her chair so she could sit down, as the gentleman he was, and then sat besides her.

"S-Sakura…" he said, still a little surprised he had managed to say her first name "…is something wrong? You know I can help…"

"Oh don't worry, Syaoran, I don't want to put all of my problems on your shoulders…"

"It's ok, really, I think you'll feel better once you've told me what happened"

"But-"

"Come on…I won't bite you…" he said sheepishly, making her giggle. He felt a rush through his body at that sound.

"Oh ok…well…I got into a big fight over the phone…" she finally said, shyly and not daring to stare directly at him. Syaoran raised an eyebrow. Deep anger was starting to boil inside of him _Anyone that dares erase that beautiful smile of hers from her face deserves to die…_

"A fight?"

"Yeah…you know…yelling and stuff. There was even some swearing. From him, not me, I never swear" she excused herself quickly.

"Why? Who did you fight with?" he asked, anxiously wanting to know who the bastard was. After he got his answer, however, he regretted having asked for it.

"My boyfriend"

++++++++++++ 

"Oh…so she told you already…"

"YOU KNEW?!"

"Hey, hey, it's not like I wouldn't tell you! Tomoyo just told me earlier today, I was gonna call you! But, as you can guess, you beat me to it" Eriol excused himself. Syaoran sighed.

"Sorry for snapping at you like that…it's just…I can't believe my luck"

"I know how you feel. It has happened to me before"

"What am I supposed to do now?"

"Well…you're already on first name basis…"

"Eriol, she has a boyfriend!"

"Yeah, back in Tomoeda! You said it yourself!"

"Still, it's not like the man doesn't exist"

"But you know what they say…eyes don't see, heart doesn't feel"

"You're out of your mind"

"Come on, man, she's having fights with him! You can be like…the one she goes to when she needs to complain about him. And then, suddenly and without anyone noticing what happened, bam! You'll be her boyfriend!"

"I don't know, it doesn't feel right…"

"But you said you were in love with her…"

"Maybe I rushed into conclusions, Eriol…maybe it wasn't what I thought it was…"

"Syaoran…"

"I need to think things over. I'll call you back, ok?" Syaoran said finally, before hanging up the phone. He stared down at the talking device for a moment before getting up from the couch. He paced around the room, absentmindedly. He certainly didn't know what he would do about all this. It changed everything.

He finally stopped in front of the window. He had a view of a small park from it, which sort of reminded him of Penguin Park, back at Tomoeda. He remembered that, back in elementary school, he used to go there every afternoon after having lunch with his friend Yamasaki, just to get a glimpse of her, that girl, the one that had been his first crush ever. Curiously, he had never known her name. He had thought many times of following her home but decided otherwise since it would be kind of scary to her if she found out.

He never talked to her either. He was too shy to do so. And he had never told anyone about her. Right now he couldn't even remember how she looked very well, but he did remember something: she was always roller-skating in a pair of girly-pink skates that made her look even cuter, along with her school uniform. And he could remember her smile. She was always smiling. Just like Sakura.

For a moment there, he could almost imagine her down there in the park, skating away with that carefree soul of hers, her green eyes shinning with the light of sunset. Yes, she had green eyes…

…just like Sakura's…

_Maybe that's what Sakura would've looked like as a little girl_ Syaoran thought with a smile, forgetting about the boyfriend issue for a moment. She was in fact very similar to that girl he used to admire. He thought Sakura would've looked nice in a pair of pink roller-skates just as that girl did, skating through the silent streets of the afternoon, her honey-colored hair dancing into the wind that blew against her silky face…

…and come to think of it…

…what color was that little girl's hair?

….

……..

…………………………….

_Oh my god__…_ Well, he wasn't about to jump to hasty conclusions but…wasn't Sakura from Tomoeda too? And Tomoeda wasn't THAT big…she could be…

"Good job, Li Syaoran!" he growled at himself, letting himself fall on his knees helplessly, his bangs hanging in front of his eyes "You just lost the same girl twice"

++++++++++++ 

"SO YOU WENT ANYWAYS?!" came a strong and angry male voice. Sakura winced and separated the phone from her ear a little so the sound wouldn't hurt her.

"Well…I told you, I really needed someone to teach me stuff about object-oriented programming and Syaoran-"

"OH SO NOW HE'S NOT LI, HE'S SYAORAN!"

"Yuusuke!! It's not like that!! Syaoran just wanted to help me! Listen to me, please!"

"Sakura, you're always doing this to me!"

"No, I'm not! I just happen to have a lot of friends that are guys because of my career!"

"Well maybe you shouldn't be studying that!"

"What?" Sakura was shocked to hear him say that. She thought Yuusuke was proud of her for even wanting to study something like that and now…

"Yeah, you should've gone into fashion like your friend, Tomoyo! You know, something more lady-like. Anything instead of that! That stuff is for guys!"

"Yuusuke, I don't believe you! I worked very hard to get here and now you're throwing it at my face!"

"Now don't you snap at me like that…"

"And what do you want me to do?! Just nod and obey!"

"Well I really wouldn't be able to tell if you nodded but…"

"OH MY GOD!"

"Sakura…you're getting out of control"

"I'M getting out of control?! ME?! I wasn't the one that started the yelling, you now!"

"Hey shut up, bitch!"

"Don't call me that! You shouldn't call me that!"

"Then why are you surrounded by men all the time?!"

"Yuusuke, I told you!"

"BITCH!"

"STOP IT!"

"YOU'RE A BITCH!"

"STOP!!!!" she screamed, hanging up the phone and dropping herself on her knees, crying her heart out. She covered her face with her hands, tears filling her palms and dropping eventually to the floor. She didn't know what was happening. After what she had felt, she had wanted to hear him, to feel what she wanted to feel…or what she thought she needed to feel…

She had had a great time with Syaoran. She had felt so comfortable with him that she found it confusing and even slightly disturbing. Every time they touched, even if it was just by accident, she had felt shocks go straight through her body. It was that familiar rush, she knew it: she liked him. She was attracted to Syaoran. But what about Yuusuke, her boyfriend?

She figured it was just happening because they were apart, so she decided to call him and hear his loving voice…only to end up like that…

Sakura got up from the floor quickly, cleaning her tears with her sleeve. She remembered something important: she had a couple of days off school coming up. She had a chance to find out what her true feelings were…

…she would go back to Tomoeda.

++++++++++++ 

Please review so I know what you think of it!


	5. How could you?

Yaaaay!!! I got response!!! Thank you, guys!!! You rock!!!! o I was so happy to read your opinions, and I'm even happier to respond to them before the chapter begins.

**YumYumXP** – Ok I won't XD Glad you liked it.

**Candy Flavored** – Thank you T-T So nice of you to say that.

**KawaiiQuerida-chan** – Lol, your rage is understandable, but don't worry, this is an SxS fanfic after all XD It'll get better for poor little Sakura.

**Jay22** – I hope this is soon enough, thanks for the compliments.

**Nihal** – So glad to hear from you again! I know, college life sucks sometimes XD I hope you do well in your test, though!

**Sakura-bell** – Yeah, I know, death to him XD Don't worry, it'll get better in future chapters.

**K** – Thanks a lot, hope you like this chapter too!

And that's it! Before I begin, let me tell you guys, the song I'll be using is _**More Than a Feeling from Boston**_. Really nice song, in case you want to listen to it.

**Chapter ****5 – How could you?**

"Sakura left?" Syaoran asked, dumbfounded by the news. Tomoyo nodded, biting her muffin. The two of them, along with Eriol, were at a coffee shop not far from where they lived. All foreign students usually lived within the first ten blocks of the university. Tomoyo was wearing her hair up in a bun, along with a black blouse with short sleeves and a gray skirt. It wasn't much, but the colors gave her an elegant appearance.

"Yes, she said she had to talk to her boyfriend about the fights they are having. She's tired of being hurt…" Tomoyo answered with a frown. Syaoran frowned too.

"I hope she's ok" he said. He was wearing a white shirt and a pair of jeans, along with black and white converse shoes. Eriol, who had been quiet up to now, was wearing a blue shirt and black jeans, with black shoes that made him look too elegant as usual. He smiled at him.

"She'll be fine in the end. Sakura has something in her that doesn't allow her to stay sad for too long…" Eriol added. Tomoyo beamed at him.

"I know! She's just so cute and innocent!" she said, starry-eyed. Syaoran gave her a you're-freaking-me-out look, but she ignored it.

"By the way, Syaoran…I noticed you're calling Sakura by her first name…" Eriol commented, grinning at him. Syaoran jumped at this and blushed deeply. So they had noticed…

"Oh yeah! I noticed too! I think it's so nice you finally found a girl you like!" Tomoyo exclaimed suddenly, turning his attention back at him. Syaoran shook his hands in front of him frantically.

"No! It's not like that! I mean…she's got a boyfriend after all…"

"Oh, that bastard!" Tomoyo exclaimed, suddenly infuriated by Syaoran's comment and making both boys jump with surprise. That had to be the very first time they had heard Tomoyo swear.

"So you don't like him?" Eriol asked curiously. Tomoyo shook her head.

"No of course I don't like him, he's not a nice person" she explained

"But he's Sakura's boyfriend…" Syaoran reminded, not believing what he was hearing.

"I know that, and I can do nothing about it, but I know he's not the one for Sakura. I'm pretty sure he was just pretending to be all charming to win her heart, but he's the worst. And he has caused her so much pain…and Sakura has endured it all"

"But why? Why is Sakura letting him hurt her?" Syaoran asked, deeply concerned by the situation. Tomoyo sighed.

"She says it's because she loves him…" she began, making Syaoran wince with pain at the mention of it "…but I know it's just because she doesn't want to be alone. Sakura has always been afraid of being alone…you know, since her mother died"

"Sakura's mom is dead?" Eriol asked in shock.

"Yes, she was in a car accident along with Sakura's father when she was eleven. Sakura's father survived, but she didn't. Sakura had always had a very special bond with her and had felt very alone ever since. Yuusuke made her feel differently, though. But after so much time, I think the only thing that remains in Sakura's heart is her fear of breaking up"

"That's just wrong!" Syaoran exclaimed suddenly. Tomoyo didn't even flinch at the raise of his voice, which surprised Eriol a lot.

"I know it's wrong" Tomoyo assured him "But that's something Sakura has to find out by herself. I can't help her. No one can"

"Have you even tried?!" Syaoran asked, sounding angrier than before. Tomoyo remained calmed.

"Of course I have. She's my best friend. But this is something I can't protect her from"

++++++++++++ 

"Touya!!" Sakura exclaimed, as she got out of the train and ran through the crowd and towards her older brother. Touya hugged her tightly.

"Hey kaiju, how have you been?"

"Good now that I see you!" she said happily, not minding her nickname.

"Well, let's get going, alright? Dad is waiting for you at home, he came early today just to see you"

"Really? That's great! I'm so looking forward to see him too" Sakura said happily, walking hand in hand with her dear brother, while he carried her bag. She hadn't packed much because she knew she was just staying for the weekend. But she had wanted to come. She wanted to settle things for good.

++++++++++++ 

"HYAAAAA!!!" Syaoran shouted, waving his sword around. He was at the roof of his apartment building, wearing only a pair of black baggy pants, drops of sweat shinning on his body with the reflection of the sunlight. Even though he had chosen to study something as intellectual as engineering, he had promised his mother he would never stop training. He was, after all, the heir to the Li Clan and he had to be worthy of such a title.

(I'll give you a while to picture sexy half-naked Syaoran training)

………………

………………

………………

(All right that's it XD)

Syaoran growled and, after a final thrust of his sword into the air, he dropped it to the ground and fell backwards in exhaustion.

He just laid there for a long time, his heart beating fast, his chest raising and sinking with every breath he took. With his mouth open and his eyes half closed because of the light, he just stayed like that, arms stretched to his sides, enjoying the moment. It was rare for him to have his mind empty of thoughts, just blank. It was relaxing. But it didn't last too much.

There she was again. The girl invading his thoughts. She was the only thing he could think about lately, and the long weekend alone wasn't helping. He thought it would give him time to think things over, to make up his mind. He thought he would be able to pick between what was right and wrong, between what was possible and what wasn't.

Well, he had been wrong. Not only had he not stopped thinking about her, but he was even more convinced that he had the strongest feelings towards her.

_How can this be happening to me?_ He thought worriedly, turning around to lay on one of his arms _I just met her!_

But deep inside, he knew. Not only was she the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, but she was smart. In fact, after studying with her, he realized she was very intelligent. She was easy to talk to, light hearted and innocent altogether. She had the most stunning pair of emerald green eyes and her smile…oh, her smile…

Syaoran got up finally, stretching his arms up before he reached to the left for his shirt, which lay forgotten on the ground. He put it on along with a pair of sandals that were next to it. He picked up his sword and stared at it for a moment, contemplating its shine. He sighed

"I wish Sakura was here" he thought. Then he remembered the conversation he'd had Friday afternoon at the coffee shop with Tomoyo and Eriol. He frowned. No one had the right to hurt Sakura. It made him so angry to know that guy was hurting her… made him want to kill him.

"I hope Sakura's alright where she is…"

++++++++++++ 

Sakura walked happily down the street, dressed in sweat pants and a white t-shirt. She was heading towards Yuusuke's house. After a couple of days of waiting for him to contact her and no results, she had decided she would find him and tell him once and for all what she had been feeling about their relationship.

She stopped when she came before a green house with black fence, and took a deep breath.

_Here we go_ she thought, pushing the fence door open and going to the main entrance. She knocked a couple of times on it.

"Yuusuke?" she called. There was no answer, but she could hear music playing inside. She recognized the song. It was their favorite song.

_**I looked out this morning and the sun was gone  
Turned on some music to start my day  
I lost myself in a familiar song  
I closed my eyes and I slipped away**_

Sakura sighed. He probably couldn't hear over the music, so she decided to go inside. The door was open, to her surprise, so she didn't have to use the hidden key she knew he always kept under the plant by the door. She pushed the door open.

_**Its more than a feeling, when I hear that old song they used to play (more than a feeling)  
I begin dreaming (more than a feeling)  
till I see marianne walk away  
I see my marianne walkin away**_

She walked through the living room and towards the stairs. There was no one in the first floor so she decided to go upstairs and check.

_**So many people have come and gone  
Their faces fade as the years go by  
Yet I still recall as I wander on  
As clear as the sun in the summer sky**_

Once she was upstairs, she heard sounds coming from his room. She approached silently to the door.

_**Its more than a feeling, when I hear that old song they used to play (more than a feeling)  
I begin dreaming (more than a feeling)  
till I see marianne walk away  
I see my marianne walkin away**_

She thought that, being there as she was, she might as well surprise him. So, with a quick motion, she turned the doorknob and opened the door.

She froze there in shock, her eyes wide open at the view. Yuusuke had jumped out of bed as he realized she was there, covering himself with a pillow. On the bed remained a blond girl, naked just as he was.

_**When Im tired and thinking cold  
I hide in my music, forget the day  
And dream of a girl I used to know  
I closed my eyes and she slipped away  
She slipped awa y. she slipped away.**_

"I…I can't believe this…"

"Sakura! What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? What is SHE doing here?!"

"Sakura, please, I can explain!"

"You have nothing to explain! We're over! So go ahead, FINISH PLEASE!" she yelled, tears finally breaking through. Before Yuusuke could reach her, she turned around and left.

_**Its more than a feeling, when I hear that old song they used to play (more than a feeling)  
I begin dreaming (more than a feeling)  
till I see marianne walk away  
I see my marianne walkin away**_

++++++++++++ 

I know this chapter was shorter but it just had to make a point XD You know…the whole Yuusuke story… Please review so I know what you think of it!


	6. Movie night

Thank you so much everyone for your wonderful reviews!!! As always, I'm gonna give an answer to each one before the chapter begins.

**KawaiiQuerida-chan** – Yeah he is!! And yeah, maybe she will X3 Hope you enjoy the outcome of this!

**YumYumXP** – Lol, I'm really not going to cut it, pinky promise! shows pinky XD And yeah, may he rot in hell for doing that. Hopefully things will turn out better now.

**Candy Flavored** – Yeah! Go Syaoran!!! I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much!

**Everyday-snowangel** – Well I'm glad you like it! I hope you keep enjoying it! Have a nice read!

**Sakura-bell** – Yeah, maybe it's just like a pick-up line…only with music…the jerk! Yeah, maybe later on I'll mention something about his death XD And yeah, hopefully Sakura will get better…

**Nihal **– Lol, I know, let's beat the crap outta them! I AM violent! XD And I don't do any martial arts XDDD And about that test…I know what you mean, I have a teacher that just LOVES to pull stuff like that out of her sleeve, I hate it. But you gotta put up to it…anyways, good luck!

Thanks again and I hope you have more to say of this chapter! I always love to read your comments!

**Chapter ****6 – Movie night**

Sakura got off the train with an empty expression on her face. Tomoyo was already there, waiting for her.

"SAKURA!!!" she exclaimed happily, running to her friend and hugging her tightly. She got a little worried, though, when she noticed Sakura wasn't returning the hug.

"Hey" was all she replied. Tomoyo pulled away and grabbed her by the shoulders, looking directly into her eyes.

"Sakura, dear…is something wrong? Please tell me what happened"

"Let's get out of here first"

"Oh yeah, right. Let's go get something to eat, you'll tell me there" Tomoyo said, putting an arm around her and leading the way. Something told her that, whatever had gone wrong, it had to do with that Yuusuke. _I just hope this is over…_

++++++++++++ 

Sakura dropped her bag on the floor and sat on the bed, releasing her breath as a sign of exhaustion. She had puffy eyes because of all the crying with Tomoyo at the restaurant earlier. She didn't even know what she was crying for. She didn't love him, now she knew as much. If she had loved him, she would've been devastated. But she wasn't. She was angry because she was betrayed, but she wasn't heartbroken.

She started unpacking, putting her clothes in the drawers. After that, she put the suitcase away into the closet and went back to the bed.

There she remained, just laying down and staring at the ceiling with an empty gaze. She didn't know why but she felt relieved. She had been thinking that her relationship with Yuusuke wasn't what she wanted when they kept it at distance but she had refused to break up with him.

_I guess now I didn't have much of a choice_ she thought.

**--Knock knock****—**

Sakura sat on the bed with a jump, staring at the door. Tomoyo had just dropped her off at home, so it couldn't be her. Who was it?

"Who is it?" she decided to ask. It was already seven o'clock and it would start getting dark not long after that. She wasn't about to take chances, she lived by herself after all.

"Uhm…it's me…" came a sly voice from the other side of the door. Sakura recognized it immediately, but was still very surprised.

"Uh… Syaoran?" she asked insecurely.

"Yeah, can I come in? It's just me"

"Sure" she said, heading towards the door and opening it to reveal the messy chestnut-haired boy, who was wearing a dark green button shirt, black jeans and a light-green vest. He looked awkwardly formal inside the small apartment that had no more room than for a closet, a desk, a couch, a small table, a bookshelf and a bed, with a door on the corner that he figured was a bathroom.

"Hey" he said, blushing a little and staring at his feet. Sakura looked at him questioningly.

"Syaoran…what are you doing here?" she asked.

"I… I was worried about you… you know, because of what you told me at the library… Tomoyo told me you went to Tomoeda and I knew you were going to see you boyfriend, so…"

"He's not my boyfriend anymore" Sakura corrected, interrupting his speech. Syaoran's face lifted immediately, amber eyes meeting emerald, searching for the truth.

"H-He's not?"

"No. He was cheating on me and I dumped him" she replied like she didn't care. Syaoran's eyes widened.

"What?"

"Yeah, I saw him in bed with some other girl"

"THAT BASTARD! I'LL KILL HIM!" Syaoran snapped suddenly, making Sakura jump with fright. He noticed this and quickly relaxed, blushing madly.

"Syaoran…"

"I-I'm sorry… I just…"

"Don't worry" Sakura said, placing her index finger on his lips. That made Syaoran go nuts. Something in his mind was screaming, telling him to just lean in and kiss her furiously. But he was a gentleman, he wouldn't do that.

"Still…sorry for scaring you" he said as soon as Sakura's finger left his lips. Sakura shook her head.

"Thanks for worrying" she corrected. There was silence between them for a moment, each of them evading the other's eyes. Suddenly, Syaoran made a sound when clearing his throat to speak.

"Sakura…" he started, finally looking directly at her "…will you be ok by yourself? Do you want to go out or something?"

"I…" Sakura was about to say 'I will be fine, thanks' but she stopped herself, knowing she wouldn't. Somehow she found herself wanting his help, wanting him to stay with her so she wouldn't be alone.

"Sakura" he repeated, calling her attention once again "I insist. It would really do you well. If you don't want to go out, we can stay here, I just don't want you to be alone"

"There's no room for us both here…it's a small place…and there's not much to do"

"We can go to my place, then. I have a spare room you can stay in" he blurted out without thinking, wanting to kill himself after he heard himself say it. _What the hell am I saying?! _He thought _She'll think I'm crazy! Or worse! She'll think I want to have my way with her!_

"Ok, let's go to your place"

"What?!"

++++++++++++ 

Tomoyo's car stopped in front of a coffee shop and Eriol got inside. She started driving again once he was inside. The boy was carrying two cups of hot coffee and a bag of cookies (yeah, he was having a hard time doing so but Eriol is a smart guy XD).

"Hey!" he greeted.

"Hey, Eriol. Just dropped Sakura over at her place. Are you sure Syaoran was heading over there already? I don't want her to be alone tonight"

"Don't worry, I talked to him on the phone when he was on his way over there. This is perfect, they'll have some time to themselves, maybe get to know each other better…if you know what I mean"

"Eriol…the cookies know what you mean" she replied with a small giggle. Eriol gave a light-hearted laugh at this comment.

"Anyways, you can be sure Sakura won't be alone. And I've known Syaoran for over a year now. He's a nice guy"

"I can tell" she said with a smile, not taking her eyes from the road "So…my place or your place?"

"Your place, if you want. Did you get the movie?"

"Yeah, I got it on my way here"

"Great"

_I think we'll have an interesting night ourselves_ thought Eriol, his gaze never leaving the girl seated next to him.

++++++++++++ 

The door opened and Syaoran quickly reached out to turn the lights on. He then opened wider to let Sakura in, who looked like she was some kind of tourist in a foreign country.

"Wow…this is where you live?" she asked in disbelief, analyzing the huge apartment. Syaoran blushed slightly.

"Yeah…" he replied sheepishly, closing the door behind him and hanging the keys on the key holder next to the door. Sakura turned back to face him with a huge smile on her face.

"It's really nice. I could never afford a place like this" she said, taking off her backpack and placing it on the floor, next to the couch.

"Don't say that. You're studying after all, maybe later in life. It's not money all that counts" Syaoran reminded her with a smirk. She giggled, the sound ringing like music in Syaoran's ears _I could listen to it all day…_

"I know that. I love my father and my brother even though we aren't in the best economic position. We manage and we are happy together" she added, sitting on a couch in front of the TV. Syaoran walked over and sat next to her.

"So…what do you want to do? Are you tired?"

"Not really. We could watch TV for a while, I heard they were going to show that Hugh Jackman movie…Van Helsing"

"Really? I never got to see that one" Syaoran replied honestly. Sakura stared at him with her eyes wide open.

"YOU'RE KIDDING ME!"

"No, I really didn't get to see it. None of my friends wanted to go see it at the movie theater when it was on, and I certainly was not going by myself, that's just pathetic"

"I would TOTALLY go watch this one by myself! It's so cool!" she exclaimed, her fists closed under her chin in a very child-like pose. Syaoran chuckled at the sight of it _She looks so cute…_

"Ok, we'll watch it then. What channel is it on?"

++++++++++++ 

"So what movie is it, anyway?" Eriol asked, watching Tomoyo put the disk into the DVD player. She sat back down on the couch next to him, reaching inside the bag for a cookie.

"It's Miss Congeniality"

"Why am I not surprised?" Eriol added, getting hit in the arm by Tomoyo in response. He chuckled at this, getting a little grin out of her.

"It's my favorite!"

"Still not surprised"

"Eriol, stop annoying me!"

"I'm not! What did I say?" Eriol defended himself, shrugging his arms and backing away a little when he saw her clenching her fists. Tomoyo jumped at him, pounding on him playfully.

"You are evil! Evil engineer! Making fun of my career!"

"You're a poet and you don't know it!"

"Stop it, Eriol!" 

"You're the one pouncing on me! You stop it!"

"No! You deserve it!"

"Ok, I'll make you stop!" Eriol warned, before reaching out for Tomoyo's waist and starting to tickle her.

"No! Oh no! JAJAJAJA Eriol stop! JAJAJA nooo JAJAJAJA" Tomoyo, caught off guard, immediately surrendered to Eriol's attack, laughing madly at the touch of his fingers to her sides. They stumbled on the couch and, after a few turns, Eriol was now on top of her, still making her laugh.

He suddenly stopped, though, realizing the position they were in. Tomoyo soon realized it too, and they both turned a deep shade of red. For a moment they just remained like that, staring into each others eyes, blushing madly.

"Tomoyo…" Eriol wanted to say something. He couldn't miss the chance, he had to tell her! "Tomoyo, I…"

"Eriol…"

"I-I…I just…" his voice came out as a whisper _What do I tell her? I hadn't prepared like a speech yet…_

"What is it, Eriol?" she said in the same tone.

"I…I….damnit, I just want to kiss you so bad!" he blurted out without further thinking, lowering his lips to hers in a wild but tender kiss. Tomoyo wrapped her arms around his neck and suddenly the movie just started playing, forgotten in the background…

++++++++++++ 

Syaoran was so into the movie that he nearly forgot Sakura was there next to him. He had to admit it was an interesting movie, even though it was American. And the actors made it even more interesting. Plus he was really into that kind of movies with all the fantasy and the action.

"He was bitten?! No way! He's gonna become a werewolf!!" he exclaimed suddenly at the TV. Sakura giggled. She figured he might like the movie but she had never expected this. It was like looking at herself watching it for the first time, too. When it came to watching movies, she was also the noisy kind of person.

"Yeah, he will"

"But he hunts them!"

"That's the whole irony"

"Well at least he gets all of the strength too" Syaoran said, eyes glued to the screen. He would've remained attached to the story of the movie if it wasn't for something that suddenly brought him back to earth. Sakura had leaned her head and it was now resting on his shoulder, her whole body now leaning against him. He blushed. He figured it would be too much if he wrapped his arm around her shoulder so he didn't do it.

_It feels so warm…_ he thought, trying not to grow stiff for that would make her move away. Instead he relaxed, leaning back on the couch and resting his head on top of hers. Now he was more aware of his surroundings than the movie, of course.

He continued watching the movie. It suddenly came to the part where Van Helsing kisses the Valerius daughter. He froze, staring at the screen with more longing than interest. _Oh how I would like to kiss Sakura…_

"I love this part, it's so intense!" Sakura commented suddenly, making him jump with surprise, for a moment wondering if she could've heard him. But she just looked at him questioningly.

"Uhm…Syaoran? Is something wrong? Why did you jump like that?"

"No, nothing's wrong. Sorry, I was just too into the movie" he excused himself, focusing on the TV again, frustrated because the whole situation had made Sakura move away. He sighed. He was making too big a deal out of it. After all, Sakura had just broken up with her boyfriend. It's not like something was going to happen between them.

"Oh, ok then" she replied. To Syaoran's surprised, this time she wrapped her arms around him and rested her head against his chest. She pulled her legs to get them on the couch and snuggled closer to him.

He was too surprised by this so he completely froze in her embrace. Was he still making a big deal or was it REALLY a big deal? She was cuddling against him! What was he supposed to do? He was sure as hell he wasn't going to push her away! And he wasn't doing anything wrong! She started it!

Sighing in defeat, he wrapped his arms around her too and leaned back again in the couch, trying to relax. He failed, obviously, and he couldn't keep watching the movie like this. All he could think of now was Sakura and the warmth he was feeling at the moment.

He suddenly found himself discreetly smelling her hair. His mind was going wild and his senses where high and alert. The flowery smell filled his nostrils and he closed his eyes, trying to focus out of it. Still, it was too much for him to handle.

After a while that to Syaoran seemed like an eternity, the movie was over. He heard Sakura sigh, as she slowly moved her head away from his chest and turn up to look at him.

"So what did you think of the mo-" she stopped her own speech finding that her face was just inches apart from his, and they were still in each other's arms. He had a serious-looking expression on his face, his amber eyes staring intensely into hers. Neither of them did anything to break the long silence in the atmosphere, only the sound of the ending credits of the movie floating around them with the instrumental theme song of Transylvanian Horses.

Suddenly, Syaoran felt his body betraying him, his mind completely clouded by instinct and desire. He started leaning towards her, not once breaking eye contact with her, searching for her lips. Sakura leaned in too, there noses touching and their faces sliding to the side. Syaoran rubbed his cheek against hers softly, kissing it and trailing down to her jaw. Sakura closed her eyes an lowered her face, trapping his lips with hers.

The kiss was tender and brief, both of them pulling away slowly, their hearts beating faster than before, a faint blush adorning their cheeks. They just stared into each other's eyes, feeling the tingling of their recently joined lips.

"Sakura…" Syaoran breathed.

"No" said Sakura, quickly bringing her index finger up to his lips "Don't talk. Don't think" she ordered simply, before replacing her finger with her lips, kissing him with passion, throwing her arms around his neck in the process. Syaoran moaned softly at this action, letting himself get lost into it, answering her with the same passion.

He felt like he was in a dream, his senses gone wild and his mind completely forgotten and unattended. He just wanted to keep feeling her, holding her in his arms and kissing her troubles away.

_Just don't stop…never stop…_

++++++++++++ 

Wow, I know, so much happened in this chapter!!! But…is it really going to be all happiness from now on…??? Read and review!!! I could use suggestions because I really don't know what's going to happen XD


	7. Second thoughts

Hey everyone! So glad you're liking this so far! I have to tell you, I really am enjoying it myself XD What's gonna happen?! Even I don't know it! It just comes out of my hands everytime XD Anyways, on to the reviews

**Sakura-bell** – Lol, yeah that was the general idea, I'm now curious about that pic XD And yeah they're so cute aren't they??? I just love the good SxS romance XD Find out what's next! Hope you enjoy this too!

**KawaiiQuerida-chan** – Yeah, took them long enough, right? Stupid Yuusuke XD I hope you like this chappie!!

**Duckygoesroarr **– Yeah!!! SxS momentes ARE addicting, I totally understand you XD And yeah…well, it was only obvious, you know? It's Tomoyo-chan after all XD I hope this update came soon enough!

**YumYumXP** – Glad you liked it! Closer, uh? Mmm…I don't know about that XD Hope you're not disappointed XD Because problems start sooner than anyone thinks!

**Rubbish** – Don't worry, I love to complicate stuff XD You're up to reading a long story XD

Well, that's it so let's get reading! Thanks again for your reviews everyone!!!

**Chapter 7 – Second thoughts**

As the morning light came through the window, it fell on Syaoran's eyes, forcing them to open. It was Sunday, he remembered with relief, since he knew he didn't need to go to class on a Sunday and he was in no position to go either. He felt so tired! All he wanted to do was stay in bed the whole day, in that warmth that made him feel so comfortable…

He suddenly gasped, looking down to see the source of his comfort. It was Sakura, cuddled against him, her head resting on his chest. She was still asleep, with a slight smile on her face. She looked so peaceful…

She was wearing one of his shirts, which looked unusually big on her, and some shorts she had brought with her when they had made the plan of her sleeping over. He had to lend her a shirt because she had forgotten the top of her pajamas. He chuckled at this.

Syaoran, on the other hand, was wearing a white shirt made with thin fabric and light green pajama pants. He remembered Sakura had said he looked cute the night before. She looked cute herself with the long shirt…

Memories of the night before started flooding his mind…

**FLASHBACK**

Sakura now lay on the couch under him, running her hands through his messy hair, his lips brushing against hers with all the love he was feeling. Slowly, he pushed through her lips with his tongue, access that she didn't deny for one second, their kisses deepening even more with those new movements.

For a moment he pulled away from her, catching his breath. They stared at each other, their eyes filled with desire, their minds blurry and their hearts beating faster than ever.

Syaoran got up from the couch in a quick jump, bringing Sakura with him, kissing her again once they were standing. She kissed him back, letting her palms rest against his chest while he caressed her cheeks with his own. Sakura giggled into his mouth, the soft sound giving him tickles and making him chuckle. They suddenly started laughing light-heartedly, trying their best not to stop their kisses while they did so.

They finally had to stop, their laughs being too much and claiming the most of their oxygen. They just stood there, hugging, feeling themselves laugh with joy. They actually didn't know exactly why they were laughing, but they knew they felt awfully good doing so.

"Sakura…" Syaoran pronounced suddenly, pulling away slightly to look at her. Sakura smiled at him, brushing a strand of his hair behind his ear.

"Yes, Syaoran?" she asked. His smile widened and he kissed her forehead softly.

"Maybe we should go to sleep. It's late and we can always save some for tomorrow" he said with a slight grin. Sakura giggled.

"Ok, but you have to let me sleep with you" she said. Syaoran's smile faded and he turned completely pale.

"S-Sleep with m-me?" he asked. Sakura punched him playfully on his arm.

"NOT LIKE THAT!" she corrected, laughing "I just want to sleep NEXT TO you"

"Oh, ok"

**END FLASHBACK**

Syaoran sighed with contempt, bringing one of his hands up to Sakura's head, caressing her hair. He then hugged her, pulling her closer to him and settling himself to go back to sleep. Taking a quick peek at his night table clock, he checked the current time.

**7:00am**

They had time.

++++++++++++ 

Eriol got up that day feeling happier than ever. His mind was filled with the memories of the night before, of being with Tomoyo, so close, so intimately.

He had finally asked her out, too. Before leaving her home that night, he had told her he wanted to take her out for dinner sometime and they had agreed to go out for lunch the next day and make plans for dinner.

He took off his clothes and got inside the shower, turning it on. He turned on the cold water and sang his heart out while he cleaned himself, his mind still wandering with the memories of the amethyst-eyed girl he liked so much.

_**Got a little crush!**_

_**Oooooh I just can't get enough of that stuff**_

_**It's such a rush**_

_**Oouuuuoooh ooooh!**_

Eriol kept singing like that the whole time that took him take his shower, after which he wrapped a towel around his waist and got out of the bathroom and to his room. He sat on the bed for a moment, and then turned to look at the clock on his wall.

**9:30am**

Yes, he was early. It was Sunday after all, and he was no Syaoran.

Yes, Syaoran always got up like at 7:00am and he normally told him he was insane for doing so. And yet now here he was… up and showered at 9:30 instead of noon. Tomoyo really did turn his world around.

++++++++++++ 

Syaoran woke up to find himself being observed by a pair of emerald shiny eyes. He smiled. It was Sakura, who had clearly woken up already, and was still cuddled against him but with her eyes fixated on his, curiously.

"Hey" he said, kissing her forehead. Sakura giggled.

"Hey. How was your night?"

"Impressively comfortable. Yours?"

"Very nice" she said, kissing his jaw "I had never been so comfortable away from my home. Honestly"

"Well I feel flattered" he said, before yawning and stretching. Sakura laughed at this.

"You look so funny!"

"Why? Isn't it something we all do in the morning?"

"Well yeah, but I had never seen you do it, so you look amusing"

"Nice"

"Don't be so harsh, you know what I mean" she said, kissing his lips lightly. Syaoran loved the feeling of her lips on his. It felt so right…as if all his life had been destined to take him to her, and their lips belonged together just as themselves.

"Of course I do" he said "I was just teasing you"

"Meanie"

"Ugly girl"

"I'm not ugly!"

"No, you're not. You're beautiful" he said, caressing her cheek. She blushed.

"You really think so?" she asked, genuinely surprised. Syaoran chuckled.

"Sakura, I've thought so since the very moment I saw you talking to Eriol at the classroom buildings. You haven't left my mind since then…" he answered sincerely, his gaze turning serious "You're the most amazing girl I've ever met…"

"Syaoran…" she backed away slightly, her eyes wide with shock. She never thought Syaoran had those feelings for her… "Syaoran, I…I…"

"All this days that I wasn't able to see you just made me think even more about you. You have managed to become a very important part of my life in practically no time, Sakura"

"But, Syaoran…" she started, getting up and sitting on the edge of the bed, giving her back to him "I…I just broke up with my boyfriend…"

"I know, I really wasn't planning for this to happen, please don't think of it that way" Syaoran quickly explained, getting up and sitting beside her in one swift move "It would be terrible of me to do that, I really just invited you over because I was worried and didn't want you to be alone…"

"But you had feelings for me"

"But your feelings come first" he quickly corrected "It will always be that way for me. You know I'll never hurt you…"

"Oh my god! You're comparing yourself to him!" she complained, getting up from the bed and walking towards the window, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"No! I was doing no such thing!" Syaoran corrected, jumping up and following her.

"Yes, you were!"

"No, I wasn't!"

"You were!"

"I wasn't!"

"You're horrible!"

"Sakura, why are you doing this to me?! When did I give you a reason not to trust me?!"

"You wanted to get your way with me!"

"No, I didn't!"

"Yes, you did!"

"Sakura, stop!" he complained, grabbing her by the shoulders and turning her to face him, staring intensely into her eyes "Please…just stop…whatever you're trying to do, stop it…please…it hurts me to know you think of me like that, I really would never do something to hurt you"

"How do I know that? I practically just met you!"

"Then why did you agree to stay over last night?! Why did you cuddle so close to me when we were watching the movie?! Why did you kiss me?!" he asked, now seeming really nervous and impatient. Sakura noticed another strange feeling in the peculiar shine his eyes had. It was fear.

"I…I don't know…" she replied slyly, shrugging away from his touch. Syaoran stood there frozen, staring at her with widened eyes, his body shivering with uneasiness.

"Y-You don't know?"

"Well, do you?"

"Yes, I do know why I did that"

"Why did you, then?"

"Because I'm in love with you!" he blurted out. Sakura gasped.

"You…you what?"

"I'm…in love with you" he replied. There, he had said it. He had confessed his feelings to her. He had poured his heart out to her. He felt naked under her judging gaze, vulnerable, weak. Right there, in that moment, her words had the power to kill him or bring him the most happiness he had ever experienced in his life. She just had to choose…

"Oh my god…" she said under her breath, almost inaudibly. Syaoran just stood there in front of her, not knowing what else to say or do. He would kill to know what she had in her mind just then. The uncertainty was killing him.

"Sakura…"

"I'm not"

"What?"

"I said I'm not…in love…with you" she whispered coldly, looking up at him with determination. Syaoran looked shocked.

"Sakura…you…I understand, I mean, you just broke up with-"

"No, you don't understand" she interrupted, grabbing her clothes from the couch where she had left them "I'm not in love with you, and I'm not going to be anytime soon. We are and will remain being just friends" she explained. Syaoran could not believe what he was hearing.

"Sakura…"

"I'm leaving. I'll just go to the bathroom, change into my clothes and leave"

"Sakura, wait" he said, grabbing her arm to stop her "Wait…you can't possibly be saying that last night didn't mean anything to you…"

"Why should it mean anything? We were caught up in the moment, that's all"

"No, Sakura, please…"

"Let go" she said shortly. Syaoran let go of her arm and she quickly went and locked herself inside the bathroom. She emerged a little while after that with her clothes on, and packed her backpack to leave. She threw it over her shoulder and headed for the door. Syaoran didn't even walk her. All he could do was watch her leave. There she was, the girl of his dreams, walking out of his apartment…and out of his life…

"Good-bye, Li Syaoran" she said, closing the door behind her. Syaoran dropped to his knees and just stayed like that, staring at the closed door. A single tear escaped all of his efforts to be a man and not cry over something like this. Just one tear…which symbolized just how much he was hurting inside. He wanted to smash his fists against the floor and let himself cry freely over losing her, but he wouldn't allow himself…

Not when she had been so cold with him…

_What did I do wrong?_

++++++++++++ 

Oh my god, so sad! Please review, I want to know what you think (sniff)

By the way, if you want to know, the song Eriol was singing in the shower is _**Crush by Darren Hayes**_


	8. I did not think this through

Hello everybody!!! I know everyone was sad about the last chapter but hey! Things can't really be THAT easy for Syaoran, can they? It would be just plain boring XD Anyways, there's still a long way to go for him. I'll get to answering the reviews…

**YumYumXP** – Yeah I know, so sad, but well, as you said, you gotta understand Sakura after all. There will be more SxS action in the future, you can be sure about that!

**RaWkIn GuRl** – Well, sad things happen, but don't worry, I love happy endings. They'll have to endure some stuff but hey, it's Sakura and Syaoran after all!

**Rubbish** – Yeah Sakura was harsh, but let's see how this turns out in the end, just wait XD

**Duckygoesroarr** – Thanks, I'm glad you liked it! Yeah, Syaoran really can't get things done easily but it'll be worth the effort in the end, it always is XD And yeah, about Eriol…lol…

**.3.scary.bananas.** – Yeah, me too XD But he's a big boy, he can take care of himself.

And now back to the story!!!!

**Chapter 8 – I did not think this through…**

"Oh, Sakura dear…and what did you do then?" Tomoyo asked, afraid of listening to the answer. She had thought Sakura and Syaoran would get far that night…not THAT far…

"I stormed out of his apartment! I mean, what else was there to do? I couldn't even look at him!" Sakura replied, seeming angrier than before. Tomoyo, as calmed as she always was, just put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Sakura, weren't you a bit too harsh?" she tried to reason. Sakura shook her head, taking a bite from her sandwich. They were at a small place near Tomoyo's where they could have some snacks and drinks while they had their private conversation. It was a small, quiet place, with few people.

"I told you what he said! He was all 'Oh Sakura I'm in love with you' and 'I know I can be better'! Well, screw him! To hell with all men! Do they all think I'm not strong enough to be alone?!"

"That's not what Syaoran meant…"

"Tomoyo, don't you dare stand up for him!"

"I'm not, Sakura, I completely understand why you got mad, Syaoran could have used a little more time to think was he was going to say, but still…can't you see he means you no harm? Syaoran seems a little bit clumsy to me in what comes to women. I bet he doesn't even know what he did wrong" she explained, smiling up at her with understanding.

Sakura found herself with no reply to that statement. Syaoran was indeed the guy who looked more innocent than flirtatious; she wouldn't be surprised really if he didn't know what had happened. But then, sadly, that would make her little scene not just a bit harsh…but VERY harsh on him.

"Well…maybe you're right but…"

"Sakura, promise me you'll try to understand. I'm not asking you to go over to Syaoran's apartment and apologize or something like that, but just…if he tries to contact you, try to listen to what he has to say, ok?"

"Ok…"

"Don't worry, Sakura. I'm sure he knows you better than you think"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that you don't have to prove just how strong you are. He already knows" Tomoyo said, winking at her friendly. Sakura finally allowed herself to smile a little.

"Thanks, Tomoyo"

"You're welcome, Sakura, you know that's what I'm here for. I still have a little doubt about the whole thing, though…"

"What is it?" Sakura said, before drinking a little more of her coke.

"Well…if you really didn't want anything with Syaoran…why did you agree to sleep at his place?" Tomoyo asked, making Sakura spit her coke, almost choking with it.

"Why in the world did you have to ask me that?"

"It's obvious that you weren't really disliking the idea of something happening, am I right?" Tomoyo asked, ignoring Sakura's question. The emerald-eyed girl sighed in defeat.

"Ok, you got me. Since I first met Syaoran I kinda felt…attracted to him. I mean, you know, the usual…"

"The usual?"

"Well, you know, Tomoyo! Syaoran is very good looking, I know you're not blind!" Sakura complained, blushing a little and expecting a little more support from her friend. Tomoyo giggled, covering her mouth with her hand.

"I know, Sakura. But you know I only have eyes for one guy…" she said winking. Sakura sighed.

"Right"

"Sakura, if you really like Syaoran you might as well give him a chance…"

"Tomoyo…"

"Ok, ok, I know. Just keep the promise, ok?" she asked. Sakura sighed again and nodded.

"Yeah, I will. Besides, I guess…I really didn't think this through"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

**RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!!!!!!!!!**

"Alright everyone, I hope you don't forget I would like that essay on my desk for next Monday. Ten pages as minimum, not one less! Thank you and have a nice evening!" were the last words of the politics teacher before she packed her stuff and stormed out of the room with that atmosphere of busy business woman. Syaoran sighed.

_An essay_ he thought painfully _And not just any essay! A ten-page-politics essay! God, can life get any worse?!_

With that in mind, he started packing his own stuff, and hung his backpack over his shoulder when done, walking out of the classroom with his gaze to the floor.

"HEY MAN!!!" he suddenly heard behind him, just before Eriol came and patted him on the back twice "What's up?! Took you long enough to get outta there!" the blue-haired guy said, a flashy smile on his face. Syaoran just glanced at him for a few seconds before focusing on the ground again.

"Hey" he said simply. Eriol's smiled disappeared from his face as he took notice of his friend's mood, putting up a concerned expression.

"Man, are you ok? What happened to you? You've been like this since this Monday"

"I know…I…I'm just going through a hard time"

"Oh, come on! I heard Sakura broke up with her boyfriend, maybe now you can tell her how you feel, right?" he asked, trying to cheer him up. Syaoran sighed _Jeez, Eriol really doesn't know a thing._

"Uhm…Eriol…why don't you join me for a glass of soda? There's stuff you need to know about that"

"Did something happen?"

"It's a long story…"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

Sounds of steps interrupted the silence of the library as a girl on high heels stepped through it and towards the door. Once outside, the sunlight shone on her, making her long red hair shine brightly. She then gasped. Her blue eyes glimmered at the sight in front of her. It was the most handsome boy she had ever seen. His chestnut hair and amber eyes had taken her by surprise completely.

"Hey Suzumi!!!" Another girl yelled at the red-head as she approached her as quick as her high heels allowed her. Suzumi, however, didn't take her eyes from her new discovery.

"Hey Kaworu…who's that guy over there?" she asked, pointing at the boy who was actually Syaoran, walking next to his friend Eriol. The girl she had called Kaworu looked in the direction she was pointed at, somewhat confused.

"Who? The blue-haired one?"

"No, the one next to him. Who is it?"

"Oh, that's Li Syaoran. He studies engineering…something of that sort, I don't remember exactly. He's the heir to some important Chinese group. A friend of mine told me about it, they say he has got a lot of money"

"Rich, uh? Rich and handsome. Nice combination he has going on there"

"Oh my god, don't tell me you like him"

"Like him? He's practically mine already. I just need a plan…and I think I have one already…"

"You're really something"

"I'm gonna need your help of course"

"Me? What for?"

"Listen carefully…"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

"So? Can you tell me what I did wrong? I'm no expert here, Eriol!" Syaoran asked desperately, waiting for an answer. Eriol sighed. After listening to the whole story, he felt he and Tomoyo had gone too far in leaving them alone that night.

"I know, I know. Look, I think what Sakura said was right. You really did sound like you were comparing yourself to him"

"Eriol, I already told you! I wasn't!"

"I know, and I believe you! But still, it wasn't the right thing to say. You still sounded out of place and you should never had told her your feelings"

"What?"

"You can't expect her to jump into your arms after she broke up with her boyfriend…"

"Well I wasn't! But that's what she did!"

"Yeah, I know that too, but try to be logical about this. She was confused. Maybe she does like you but she feels guilty because she has just broken up with her boyfriend and she needs some time"

"Well…now that you put it THAT way…"

"I'm telling you, Syaoran, that was a big mistake"

"God, I'm such an idiot…I did not think this through…" Syaoran mumbled, crossing his arms on the table and sinking his face into them. Eriol sighed.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, you're not an idiot…you're just in love"

"Yeah well…tell that to her"

"Hey…maybe you should tell her"

"What?"

"Go and apologize"

"Eriol, I don't think she even wants to see me…"

"Come on, you have nothing to lose…what do you say?"

"I don't know…"

"Hey!" they both jumped in surprise and turned when they heard the unknown girly voice so close to them. Standing right next to them was a girl with long black hair and deep red eyes, wearing a pair of tight jeans and a red tank top.

"Uhm…hey…unknown person…" said Syaoran, slightly annoyed for being interrupted. The girl ignored his tone, smiling brightly at them.

"Hey!! My name is Kaworu Ono, and I wanted to invite you both to a big party this Friday night!"

"A party?" Eriol asked in disbelief "Why are you inviting us? We don't know you…"

"It'll be a huge party and the objective is to meet new people so I'm sending out invitations at random"

"Fun" Syaoran said with sarcasm. He had never been very enthusiastic about parties.

"Hey Syaoran, maybe we should go" Eriol said suddenly. Syaoran looked at him as if he had just grown another head.

"What? Are you serious? I'm not going to that party!"

"Oh come on, it'll be fun!" Kaworu assured him.

"Syaoran, you need some time to relax. Time to think about just yourself. It would be good for you to chill out a little, don't you think?" he asked him. Syaoran growled.

"Gah, ok, I'm going to your stupid party"

"Yay! You're not gonna regret it! Here's the map so you can get there! See you Friday night!" she said, handing them a piece of paper and then running away happily. Eriol and Syaoran exchanged awkward looks.

"Oh well…as you said, Eriol, there's nothing else to lose, right?"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

"Sakura!!!"

"Oh hey Tomoyo! I hadn't seen you today, how are you?" Sakura replied, as she saw her friend running down the corridor, waving happily at her.

"I'm so excited! I got invited to this party on Friday and I totally want you to come with me!"

"A party? I don't know, Tomoyo…I'm not too much into parties…"

"Oh come on, why not?"

"I don't know, they're always so much trouble…"

"Oh pleeeeeeeease!!! I want you to wear one of my newest outfits! Plus, you could use some time out to relax, you know? After everything that has happened" Tomoyo reminded her with a supporting smile. Sakura sighed and smiled back.

"Ok, Tomoyo, I'll go with you.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

Uuuh…plans for a party! More to come soon!!! Please review so I know if you like it so far!! Sorry there's no SxS action in this chappie but there will be more to come!!!


	9. To the rhythm of the music

Hi everyone!!! It's me with a new chappie for you to read happily XD I hope you like it because it's looooooong XD Lol. Well, before anything else happens, I'll get to answering the reviews.

**Duckygoesroarr** – Lol, I know, that girl is evil. Both of them. So evil and conceited…but oh well, I hope you enjoy reading how things turn out XD There's still story to be written XD

**Rubbish** – Yeah, that chapter was necessary, and besides…I think I'll make it up to you with this chapter XD More S&S action coming! It's too bad you won't be able to read it right now but I hope you like it when you do. Good luck with your business!

**YumYumXP** – Of course there's no one like Sakura, but you know there can always be trouble coming that way XD I hope you like this chapter!

**Angelica** – Yeah I would also like a real Syaoran XD And oh my god thank you! So nice of you to say that! I'm flattered o/////o

**Rosy** – Jajajaja, empezaste en ingles y luego te valio verdad? XD Jajajaja bueno si no uso acentos para contestarte es porque mi teclado esta configurado en ingles cuando escribo estas cosas. Jajaja si, bueno, cualquier similitud con la vida real es mera coincidencia XD yeah right. Aunque la verdad lo de la puerta del coche no lo hice intencional XD Jajajaja pues bueno, como veo que no lo has terminado de leer, cuando sigas tendras mas chappies que leer XD Y que bueno que te este gustando, peke. Se feliz en Merida.

**Sakura-bell** – Don't worry, it's Sakura and Syaoran after all XD They'll find a way. I'm glad you're liking it! I hope you like this chappie too!

And still, before the story starts, I just want to inform you of the songs that will be used, in order of appearance:

_**Let's Get it Started – Black-Eyed Peas**_

_**Kiss From A Rose – Seal**_

And now to the story!!!

**Chapter 9 – To the rhythm of the music**

"OH MY GOD YOU LOOK SO PRETTY!!!!" Tomoyo exclaimed with stars in her eyes as Sakura examined herself in the full-body-length mirror. She was wearing a sleeveless pink blouse with a cleavage that for Sakura was a little more that she was used to. The fabric was very comfortable, though, and it had cherry blossoms printed on it in different sizes (she assumed Tomoyo had made that especially for her). She was also wearing a dark red plain skirt that was a little above her knees, and tall brown boots with low heels, since Tomoyo knew Sakura hated high heels because she felt like she was going to trip any minute. She looked simple and elegant, plus the slight touch of make-up really brightened her face (just some gloss and eyeliner). Her hair was loose and finely combed.

"You really think so, Tomoyo?" she asked, wondering if it wasn't too much. Tomoyo nodded.

"I'm positive about it!"

"Well, you don't look bad yourself, if I may say so" Sakura added with a smile. Tomoyo giggled. She was wearing a gray skirt and a black long-sleeved blouse that showed her shoulders. She had her hair up in a ponytail and very light make-up too. She was wearing high heel black boots that added up to a very sophisticated appearance that suited her perfectly.

"Thank you, Sakura"

"What time are we supposed to be there?" Sakura asked while she fixed her hair a little. Tomoyo searched for her invitation in her bag, realizing she didn't really remember the exact time the party started.

"Ah, here it is!" she exclaimed as she pulled out the crumbled piece of paper from her bag "It says here…oh my…"

"What is it, Tomoyo?"

"It started an hour ago"

"HOEEEE???"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

Syaoran walked inside the house with a gloom expression on his face. He sure caught a lot of the girl's gazes, though. His outfit was simple but he sure knew how to make it look more than it was. He was wearing a dark green button shirt and black pants, with his black jacket hung over his shoulder. His hair was the usual mess but that just added up to his rebellious good looks. His hands were inside his pockets and his pose was that of someone waiting for something to happen.

_Where the hell is Eriol?_ He asked himself mentally, looking around the room without moving, trying to recognize any of the people that were inside. The place was completely full and the music was loud, people dancing around almost everywhere. It wasn't really his idea of fun just jumping around like that to the sound of senseless and stupidly-loud music. No, Syaoran was more the traditional type of guy.

"Hey Syaoran! Good to see you really did make it here!" he was taken by surprise by Eriol's greeting, turning around to see him. Eriol wasn't looking bad himself, but his outfit was more casual than his. He was wearing dark blue jeans, a light gray shirt and a black jacket. He had a hand inside one of his jacket pockets and the other was holding a drink, which Syaoran thought was something like vodka because of the color.

"Hey" was his simple reply. Then two girls popped from behind Eriol. Syaoran recognized one of them as Kaworu, who was wearing a strapless red blouse and tight black jeans with high-heeled shoes_. Really not my type of girl_ Syaoran thought.

"Oh, Syaoran, you remember Kaworu from the other day, right?" Eriol asked, pointing at the girl with his hand. Syaoran nodded.

"Hi! So glad you could make it!" said Kaworu, waving her hand at him. Syaoran simply nodded once again.

"And this is Hamasaki Suzumi" Eriol said, introducing the other girl next to him. Syaoran looked at her from top to bottom. She was a beautiful red-head with a too-short white skirt and a green sleeveless blouse, accompanied with high-heeled green shoes. He nodded.

"Li Syaoran. Pleased to meet you" he said with a slight nod of his head. The girl squealed, making Syaoran wince a little.

"I'm so happy we get to finally meet, Syaoran! Eriol has told me so much about you!" she said. Syaoran raised an eyebrow _Already on first name basis? People don't even ask now? So rude _he thought _And definitely not my type either. Gosh, to think I came here so I could meet people and all I can think of is her…_

"So Syaoran!" Suzumi insisted "Any girlfriends?"

"Girlfriends in plural?"

"Oh, you know what I mean" she said with a small wink. Syaoran rolled his eyes _Give me a break, girl, I'm not made of stone, you know?_

"Well…" he was just trying to think of the perfect excuse not to answer that question when she walked through the door, leaving him breathless. It was her, Kinomoto Sakura, wearing an outfit that Syaoran thought had to be prohibited for her. Being used as he was in seeing her with her baggy pants and regular t-shirts, this new appearance really got him new perspective. Now he knew it was her. It was only her, it could only be her. Not only was she smart, funny, nice to talk with…she was also astonishingly beautiful!

Suddenly, Sakura's gaze met his, and he hurried and closed his mouth because he knew he looked like a dork with his jaw hanging down like that. Her eyes showed a little unidentifiable emotion for a few seconds before turning cold.

"Li" she said plainly, walking past him. Tomoyo walked inside after her and stopped in front of Syaoran, apologetically smiling at him.

"Just talk to her when you have the chance. She'll listen" she said, walking towards Eriol, who did not seem to care that he looked like an idiot with his jaw out of place like Syaoran had. Suzumi stood besides Syaoran and looked in Sakura's direction.

"Is it her? Your girlfriend?" she asked with a small hint of jealousy and madness in her voice, which Syaoran did not bother in noticing.

"Soon" he replied, walking towards her and leaving Suzumi standing there alone with widened eyes. Kaworu rushed towards her.

"Suzumi…what are you going to do now?" she asked her worriedly. Suzumi narrowed her eyes at Syaoran's back and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Oh, I'll let that bitch have him for now. But you just wait and see what I'll do next…"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

"Sakura!" Syaoran exclaimed, moving towards her through the crowd of people. Sakura was sitting now at the bar, and was ordering something from the bar tender. She didn't even turn around.

"Sakura, hey! It's me!" he insisted, as he finally reached her and took the seat next to her. She decided to turn towards him then.

"Hello, Li" she said coldly. Syaoran sighed.

"You know it's Syaoran to you" he reminded. Now it was Sakura who sighed as a sign of exasperation.

"What do you want from me, Syaoran?" she asked. His eyes brightened for a moment as he heard her say his name once more, but he recovered his seriousness quickly as he knew he had no time to cheer for himself.

"Forgiveness, that's all I want. I never realized the pain that my words and actions had caused you that night, I'm sorry for being so naïve… I'm just not used to treating with girls…well…that way…" he confessed, blushing a little. Sakura eyed him suspiciously.

"Oh yeah right, and you expect me to believe that you've never had a girlfriend"

"Well…yeah…" he replied, blushing even more. Sakura gasped.

"You…you really…?"

"Yeah, really. And please don't shout it, it's not something I'm proud of"

"Then why me? Of all people, why me? Why are you so damn interested in me?"

"Just because it's you. You're perfect"

"Ha! That's a good one"

"Well, that's what I think at least" he corrected. Sakura smiled at him slightly.

"And what do you expect me to reply to a comment like that?"

"Uhm…I don't know…I forgive you?" he suggested with a hoping expression on his face. Sakura couldn't hold her giggles at this.

"Oh my god, you look so cute when you do that!"

"Hey, I'm always cute"

"Don't give yourself too much credit" Sakura warned. Syaoran laughed.

"Your daiquiri, miss" the bar tender interrupted, handing Sakura her drink and then turning to Syaoran "What can I get you, sir?"

"Uh…do you have…white wine?"

"Most certainly yes, sir. I'll get you some" the man answered before leaving them. Sakura eyed him curiously.

"White wine?"

"Hey, I'm a sophisticated guy, you know?" he joked, receiving a slight punch on his arm from Sakura's fist.

"Yeah right" she said, making Syaoran laugh again.

"Oh ok, you got me, I'm just very used to it, that's all" he explained. Sakura smiled at him sweetly.

"I do" she said suddenly.

"Excuse me?" Syaoran asked, not really knowing what she was talking about. Sakura blushed.

"I mean I do…forgive you…" she clarified. Syaoran's smiled widened.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

_**Let's Get It Started, in here...**_

And the base keep runnin' runnin', and runnin' runnin', and runnin' runnin', and runnin' runnin', and  
runnin' runnin', and runnin' runnin', and runnin' runnin', and runnin' runnin', and...

Tomoyo and Eriol were dancing to the rhythm of the music that was playing at the moment when they saw Syaoran and Sakura talking by the bar. Tomoyo smiled.

_**In this context, there's no disrespect, so, when I bust my rhyme, you break your necks.  
We got five minutes for us to disconnect, from all intellect collect the rhythm effect.  
Obstacles are inefficient, follow your intuition, free your inner soul and break away from tradition.  
Coz when we beat out, girl it's pullin without. You wouldn't believe how we wow shit out.  
Burn it till it's burned out. Turn it till it's turned out. Act up from north, west, east, south.**_

"Look! I think they are working things out!" she said loudly so Eriol could listen over the music. He nodded.

"I know! It seemes like it!" he answered in the same tone.

_**Everybody, everybody, let's get into it.  
Get stupid.  
Get it started, get it started, get it started.  
Let's get it started (ha), let's get it started in here. Let's get it started (ha), let's get it started in here.  
Let's get it started (ha), let's get it started in here. Let's get it started (ha), let's get it started in here.  
Yeah.**_

"I hope they can get to something, they look really cute together!"

"Plus they also really like each other!"

"I know, but Sakura seems to be having a little trouble accepting that!"

"Syaoran sure doesn't!"

"I'm quite aware of that!"

_**Lose control, of body and soul.  
Don't move too fast, people, just take it slow.  
Don't get ahead, just jump into it.  
Ya'll here a body, two pieces to it.  
Get stutted, get stupid.  
You'll want me body people will walk you through it.  
Step by step, like you're into new kid.  
Inch by inch with the new solution.  
Trench men hits, with no delusion.  
The feeling's irresistible and that's how we movin'.**_

"You know what?!"

"What is it?!"

"I think…I'm falling in love with you…"

"What?!"

_**Everybody, everybody, let's get into it.  
Get stupid.  
Get it started, get it started, get it started.  
Let's get it started (ha), let's get it started in here. Let's get it started (ha), let's get it started in here.  
Let's get it started (ha), let's get it started in here. Let's get it started (ha), let's get it started in here.   
Yeah.**_

Runnin' runnin', and runnin' runnin', and runnin' runnin', and runnin runnin' and...

"I said I think I'm falling in love with you"

"I'm sorry, I can't hear you!"

"Forget it, it's nothing! I'll tell you later, ok?!"

"Ok!"

_**Let's get ill, that's the deal.  
At the gate, we'll bring the bud top drill. (Just)  
Lose your mind this is the time,  
Ya'll test this drill, Just and bang your spine. (Just)  
Bob your head like epilepsy, up inside your club or in your Bentley.  
Get messy, loud and sick.  
Ya'll mount past slow mo in another head trip. (So)  
Come then now do not correct it, let's get pregnant let's get hectic.**_

"Just one more thing, though!"

"What is it?!" Tomoyo asked curiously. Eriol grabbed her from the shoulders and brought her to him into a very passionate kiss. She was shocked at his sudden change of mood at first but gave in completely, since she had been wanting him to do that since the moment she arrived. She sighed into his mouth with satisfaction, placing her hands on his chest.

_**Everybody, everybody, let's get into it.  
Get stupid. (Come on)  
Get it started (come one) , get it started (yeah), get it started.  
Let's get it started (ha), let's get it started in here. Let's get it started (ha), let's get it started in here.  
Let's get it started (ha), let's get it started in here. Let's get it started (ha), let's get it started  
(woah, woah, woah) in here.  
Yeah.**_

_I think I'm falling in love with you, Eriol_ she thought, as he continued to kiss her, slowly swaying to the music while doing so _I just hope some day you will feel the same…_

_**Lets get woohoo!  
Lets get woohoo! (in here)  
Lets get woohoo!  
Lets get woohoo! (in here)  
Lets get woohoo!  
Lets get woohoo! (in here) Ow, ow, ow!  
Ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya...**_

Runnin' runnin', and runnin' runnin', and runnin' runnin', and runnin' runnin'

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

Sakura laughed out loud suddenly after hearing Syaoran joking about stuff. She felt her head so light…Maybe she had had too much to drink.

Syaoran, on the other hand, was positive that HE had had too much to drink. He felt so dizzy he thought he was going to fall straight to the floor if he got up from his seat. Everything around him looked blurry…everything except her, of course. Sakura looked crystal clear to him still, as beautiful as he had always seen her plus the added value of the outfit she was wearing that night. He felt wild, all of his shyness brushed away by alcohol.

"Say, Sakura…want to dance?" he asked with a flirty grin, leaning against the bar and looking at her with desire shinning in his eyes. Sakura smiled at him and poked his nose.

"Wait for me" she said, smiling at him flirtatiously "I'll be right back" she added before heading towards the bathroom. Syaoran smiled to himself, still feeling all dizzy but feeling really happy at Sakura's response and waiting impatiently for her to be back.

He was lost in his thoughts when Suzumi popped in front of him, a wide smile on her face.

"Hey Syaoran!"

"Hey" he replied simply, not really caring about someone else who wasn't Sakura at the moment. Suzumi noticed he was all dazed off and took it as an opportunity. She quickly threw her arms around his neck and kissed him full on the lips.

Syaoran didn't have time to quite understand what was happening before it was over. He was sure he had seen a camera flash go off and then Suzumi was gone. Had he just dreamt the whole thing? Whatever…

Soon after that, Sakura came back from the bathroom and stood next to him with her hands on her hips.

"I remember someone asked me to dance"

"And I believe it was me" Syaoran added to her remark, getting up from his seat and handing out his arm for her to hold "Shall we, then?"

"Glad to" she said with a small giggle, holding on to his arm. They walked towards the dance floor then, their gazes never leaving each other. Suddenly, Syaoran stopped walking and stood in front of her. As if on queue, the music changed from fast to slow.

Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck as he wrapped his around her waist, both starting to sway to the rhythm of the music.

_**There used to be a greying tower alone on the sea.  
You became the light on the dark side of me.  
Love remained a drug that's the high and not the pill.  
But did you know,  
That when it snows,  
My eyes become large and,  
The light that you shine can be seen.**_

Syaoran leaned in towards Sakura and rested his forehead against hers, both looking deeply into each other's eyes, serious expressions on both their faces and not a word spoken between them.

_**Baby,   
I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey.  
...kiss from a rose on the grey.  
Ooh,  
The more I get of you,   
Ooh...  
Stranger it feels, yeah.  
And now that your rose is is in bloom.  
A light hits the gloom on the grey.**_

Sakura felt her heart beating fast, the warmth of her chest against Syaoran's filling her completely. She then felt his hands slide softly from her waist to her back, their movement giving her a tingly feeling all over her body.

_**There is so much a man can tell you,  
..there...woa...   
So much he can say.  
there's so much inside.  
You remain,   
you...  
My power, my pleasure, my pain, baby  
To me you're like a growing addiction that I can't deny.. yeah.  
Won't you tell me is that healthy, baby?  
But did you know,  
That when it snows,  
My eyes become large and the light that you shine can be seen.**_

Syaoran felt his senses go wild when Sakura started playing with the hair on the back of his head, her fingers twirling it and sending a tingling sensation down his spine. He closed his eyes, feeling her breath close to him.

_**Baby,   
I've...  
I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey.   
been... kissed from a rose on the grey.  
Ooh, the more I get of you  
...ooh...the..  
Stranger it feels, yeah  
stranger it feels.  
Now that your rose is in bloom,  
A light hits the gloom on the grey. **_

Syaoran lowered his face to her, their cheeks brushing against each other, her breath warming his ear, his breath warming hers. Syaoran started kissing her ear, hearing a small moan right next to his own ear. He grinned.

"I love you, Kinomoto Sakura" he whispered right into her ear.

_**Yes I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey  
I've...been kissed from a rose on the grey.  
Ooh, the more I get of you   
...ooh...the..  
Stranger it feels, yeah  
stranger it feels. ...yeah.  
And now that your rose is in bloom   
aah-ee-aah...  
A light hits the gloom on the grey   
aah-ee-aah...**_

Sakura pulled away a little to look at him right into his eyes, searching for a hint of falseness in his words. But she found none. His sincere amber eyes just stared back at her emerald ones, with a wide smile. She felt tears flowing suddenly from her eyes, not really sure of what she was feeling.

"Don't cry" Syaoran said, leaning towards her again, this time closing his eyes and joining his lips with hers in a long, tender kiss.

Everything around them disappeared and, in that moment, they were completely alone with each other, never wanting to be apart.

_**Now that your rose is in bloom,  
A light hits the gloom on the grey.**_

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

Loooooooooong chapter!!!! I hope you enjoyed it!!! Please review lots!!! XD See ya!!!


	10. The morning after

Hey everybody!!! Here I am again, updating the fic XD I better do so now that I can because I start college again in a week and then things will be pretty out of schedule. In other words…the updates will be far apart from each other, sadly. But I still intent to finish this xD and maybe write another one. Oh well, on to the reviews.

**YumYumXP** – Oh yeah, action alright! And yeah, of course they'll notice, but that's gonna turn out badly, you'll see. Not in this chapter, though. Suzumi rests on Saturdays (lol). An yeah, Syaoran was very drunk, but that's not always good on your defense (believe me…).

**Everyday-snowangel** – I know, she's evil. But yeah, so cute XD I'm glad you liked it!

**Angelica** – Who isn't jealous of her? Syaoran is just sooooo cool!!! He's intelligent, handsome, charming, strong…every girl's dream. He's too good to be real I guess XD

**KawaiiQuerida-chan** – Yes, I know….chapter 7 and its drastic changes of mood…it tends to freak people out like that XD Also the Eriol thing, lol. But yeah, Sakura had to realize her mistake sooner or later, it was evil of her after all! And the phrase…you can use it XD It's fun to use, I've used it myself. Plus…yeah, Suzumi tends to be hated by SxS fans XD Lol, I like it when people get so into their reviews, it's interesting to read them XD I absolutely loved your reviews!!!

**Sakura-bell** – Yes, pretty obvious isn't it? Not just yet though, let us give them some time to relax XD

**Rubbish** – Cool! So glad you could make it! And thanks, I tried to keep things complicated, the fic wouldn't be as fun if things were easy…and again, yeah, Suzumi tends to be hated XD

And now to the story once again!!!

**Chapter 10 – The morning after**

When the morning light came through the window on Syaoran's eyes, he groaned. He was sooooo tired. And he had THE most terrible headache in the history of headaches. He stretched his arms up and yawned. He didn't even remember a lot of what had happened last night or how he had gotten home. _Wait….am I home?_

Syaoran sat on the bed in a jump. He looked around frantically and tried to recognize something in his blurry vision, trying his best to focus. He was able to get the picture he was in and gasped_ Oh no…I'm not home…where the hell am I?_

He then recognized the small place he was in. Of course…he had been there already…it was…it was…

A soft moan brought him back to earth. He looked next to him on the bed and saw Sakura fast a sleep, cuddled to the opposite side of the bed. Of course…it was Sakura's place….BUT WHAT WAS HE DOING IN THERE?!

He just stared at her for a while and then he looked at himself. He wasn't wearing any shirt, his chest was showing, and he wasn't wearing any pants, but his boxers were on, so that calmed him a little bit.

He blushed madly when he noticed Sakura's shoulders were bare except for two black straps. She was probably just wearing bra and panties…and thinking about it just made him turn a deeper shade of red. Still, he wasn't gonna just sit there and stare…

He got up from the bed, taking his chance while Sakura was still asleep, and looked for his pants. Gosh, his head was killing him! But he knew he had to make an effort, Sakura could wake up any minute and he didn't want her to see him in his boxers. That was not the way he wanted THAT to happen in particular.

As soon as he spotted his clothes (scattered on the floor) he picked them up and started getting dressed. He got his pants up first and then reached out for his shirt and put it on…

A small scream made him jump slightly before he could do the buttons of his shirt and he turned towards the bed. Sakura was awake, her eyes widened at him and her hands holding the sheets up so she could cover her chest.

"Syaoran…what are you doing here?" she asked, her voice sounding death serious. Syaoran freaked.

"I…I honestly do not know…" he confessed.

"Please tell me you were dressed…" Sakura pleaded, closing her eyes as if she was praying for it to be so. Syaoran sighed.

"Well…I wasn't naked if that's what you mean…"

"OH MY GOD!"

"Sakura…calm down…none of us intended for this to happen. I mean I don't even remember what happened…"

"How can you be so cool about this?!"

"I'm not, Sakura! All I'm saying is that this is just one drunken mistake! I would never ever think of doing…well…uhm…whatever I did last night…" Syaoran tried to excuse himself, but it wasn't very effective since he really did not remember. Sakura blushed a little.

"Well I don't remember either…" she confessed too. Syaoran went over to the bed and sat next to her on the edge, pressing a hand against his forehead while he tried to get his memories to return to him.

"I remember we were at the party…we were at the bar drinking…" he started remembering. Sakura nodded.

"Oh yeah, and you started joking about something…"

"I do remember laughing a lot…" Syaoran said with a slight smile.

"A lot!" Sakura agreed, giggling.

"It was quite fun actually…"

"You asked me to dance with you"

"Oh yeah…I remember that…and you said yes…"

"What song were we dancing to?"

"I have no idea. But it was a slow one. I remember because…" Syaoran made a slight pause to turn and look at her directly in the eyes "…because I was holding you close to me…" he added, blushing. Sakura blushed too and evaded his gaze, looking to the side.

"I remember kissing you" she confessed. Syaoran nodded, still looking at her.

"I remember that too" he said, sounding serious. Sakura clutched the sheets to her chest, turning deep red.

"You said something to me then…you whispered it into my ear softly…" she whispered, now looking into his eyes again "…but it must've been the alcohol…" she added. Syaoran did not leave her gaze.

"You know? Some people say there's only two ways that you can always tell if someone's saying the truth" he told her, a slight grin on his face "The first one is if that person is a child, because children are innocent and never lie to you"

"What's the second?" Sakura asked, moving towards him, their faces just inches away. Syaoran's grin widened.

"The second one is when the person is drunk" he said "because drunk people can't stop themselves from saying the truth…"

"Syaoran…"

"I really do love you…Sakura…" he confessed, leaning in and brushing her lips with his slightly, pulling away to smile at her. Sakura's eyes filled with tears.

"You remember…"

"Of course I do…"

"Do you really mean that?" she asked. He raised a hand and caught one of her tears with his thumb, brushing it away softly.

"From the bottom of my heart I know it's true. I love you. I really, really do love you. I'm sorry if I made some mistakes in the past, but ever since that day I waved at Eriol's friend, I knew I had met someone that would be very special to me…"

"I…I don't know what to say…" Sakura said nervously.

"You don't have to say anything. I just want you to give me a chance to show you just how much I love you…and hopefully get you to love me back eventually…" he said sheepishly "…so…will you go out with me?" he finally asked. Sakura stared at him blankly for a few moments after that, seconds that to Syaoran seemed like ages…before she finally answered…

"…Yes" she said, a shy smile adorning her face. Syaoran's eyes widened.

"Really? You will?"

"I…I can't tell you I love you just yet, but…I can't tell you I won't….eventually" Sakura said, with a cute blush. Syaoran thought he couldn't be happier in his life. Had he heard what he thought he just heard? Was Sakura really saying that?

He suddenly started laughing insanely, freaking Sakura a little. She clutched the sheets to her chest even more and sweatdropped _What did I say?_

"Uhm…Syaoran?" she called. Syaoran turned again to look at her and grabbed her by her shoulders.

"Sakura! You have no idea of how happy I am right now!" he exclaimed. Sakura's eyes widened.

"Syaoran, you're freaking me out, what did I—" she couldn't keep talking, his mouth was in her way. She found herself being wildly kissed by Syaoran, who brought her close to him. She let go of the sheets and threw her arms around him, giving up entirely. Who was she fooling anyways? That's what she wanted. She wanted HIM. She wanted to kiss him, to feel his body, to be with him…

Syaoran pulled away to look at her and turned all red as he noticed she wasn't covering herself up anymore, and he could see her black bra covering her chest, the lower part of her body still under the covers. Sakura blushed too and smiled sheepishly at him.

"Uhm…I think we are uneven" she commented, grabbing his shirt and pulling it off slowly and easily since he hadn't been able to do the buttons. Syaoran just stared at her, letting her do so, his gaze completely blank, as if he was under some kind of hypnosis. Sakura threw his shirt to the floor and Syaoran couldn't control himself any longer. He pushed her down on the bed and got on top of her, staring at her seriously, his amber eyes burning in her emeralds, both of them breathing heavily.

"You drive me insane, Sakura" he told her. Sakura giggled.

"The feeling is mutual" she assured, placing a hand on the back of his head and pulling him towards her, kissing him deeply. Syaoran let his body fall slowly on top of hers and kept kissing her, pushing through with his tongue. Sakura ran her hands though his hair and then down his back, until she reached his pants…

Syaoran pulled away and looked into her eyes intensely. Sakura returned his gaze.

"We're not going that far. I just…want to feel you close to me… And since we already slept together like this… I don't see any problem with it… Do you?" she asked, with a slight grin. Syaoran raised an eyebrow.

"Just pull them off"

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

Eriol hung up the phone and growled. Nothing. Syaoran was not home, and if he was guessing correctly, he hadn't been home all night. He was starting to worry. He knew Syaoran had been drunk and blamed himself for not noticing when he had left the party, since he could've been the one to take him home safely.

His thoughts were interrupted by the phone ringing and making him jump, scaring him a little. He quickly picked it up.

"Syaoran?!"

"Sorry to disappoint you"

"Oh hey, Tomoyo darling…how are you"

"Good, just a little tired. I just got up. What time is it?"

"It's two o'clock in the afternoon. I don't blame you, I got up an hour ago myself"

"You sound startled, is everything ok?"

"I…well, as a matter of fact I'm worried…Syaoran isn't home and I think he hasn't been home all night"

"Oh dear, I remember he was kinda drunk yesterday"

"I know, that's why I'm worried"

"I'll tell you what. I'll call Sakura and see if she knows something about him, and then I'll call you back"

"Ok, thanks Tomoyo, I owe you one"

"None sense. Besides I do want to check up on Sakura myself, she told me last night that a friend of hers was going to give her a ride home, but I still want to know if she got home safely"

"Ok, I'll talk to you later then"

"Right. See ya"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

"Well that was interesting" Syaoran said, releasing his breath and raising a hand up to his forehead to clean some of his sweat. He was laying on the bed wearing nothing more than his boxers with Sakura next to him, who had her arms wrapped around his waist and her head on his chest. She giggled.

"Very interesting" she added. He then wrapped his arms around her and kissed her head.

"Why did I do to deserve such a beautiful girl?" he asked her, making her giggled again.

"Syaoran, don't be silly"

"I'm serious! You're like the most wonderful girl I've ever met in my life"

"Stop it, Syaoran! You're embarrassing me!" 

"Embarrassing you? There's no one here! Now you're being silly" he replied, receiving a playful punch on his chest as an answer.

"I hate you" Sakura pouted. Syaoran laughed.

"No you don't"

"I do"

"You don't"

"I do"

"You do"

"I don't! Wait! You tricked me!"

"Did not!"

"Oh stop it, you're and impossible man!" she said, punching him playfully. Syaoran kept laughing none stop. He couldn't remember laughing like that before in his life. But then again, he couldn't remember being happier in his life so he guessed that was the whole thing.

**RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!!!!!!**

"Oh the phone!" exclaimed Sakura, scrambling to get to the night table, which got her to be on top of Syaoran. He raised an eyebrow and grinned.

"I could definitely get used to this"

"Shut up" Sakura said grinning back at him before picking up the phone to answer it "Hello?"

"Sakura! Good afternoon!"

"Oh hey Tomoyo! How are you?"

"Fine, I just got up. Eriol and I stayed over at the party until 4 o'clock in the morning"

"Really? I'm so glad you had fun!"

"Yeah, it was great! And we kissed! A lot, if I may say so" Tomoyo added with a slight giggle. Sakura giggled too.

"I'm so happy for you guys! Is he your boyfriend now? Because I thought it was weird that he didn't ask you when you kiss the other night at your place"

"Yeah I know but he's just so shy"

"Kawaii!!"

"Hey by the way, do you know something about Syaoran?" she finally asked. Sakura held her breath. _Oh my god…_ she thought, staring down at Syaoran who returned her a questioning look and mouthed a 'What is it?'

"Uhm…Syaoran? Why do you ask?" Sakura replied, trying to sound cool about it. Syaoran understood and his eyes widened.

"Well…Eriol has been calling him and he's not home. He's worried because Syaoran was so drunk last night…and I remembered he was with you so…"

"That doesn't mean I should know where he is!" Sakura snapped, feeling nervous. Syaoran smiled at her.

"I…I was just asking, Sakura…"

"Well…I-I think you…you should…" Sakura couldn't finish her sentence because Syaoran snatched the phone from her hands and put it to his ear.

"Hey Tomoyo" he said, smiling at the terrified look on Sakura's face. There was a silence in the other end of the line for a moment, while Tomoyo understood what was going on.

"…Syaoran?" she finally asked. He chuckled at her surprised voice.

"Good afternoon!" he replied happily. He could hear Tomoyo gasping.

"Did…did you…"

"Spend the night at Sakura's? Yeah, I did. Don't worry, nothing happened. And that 'nothing' doesn't include the fact that she's my girlfriend now, of course" he said, almost bragging about it, making Sakura blush and punch him on the arm.

"Oh my god! I'm so happy for you!!! I knew you and Sakura could really hit it off!!! I'm really very happy!!!"

"Thanks for the support" he said, giving Sakura the thumbs up. She giggled.

"You're so welcome!"

"You can tell that Eriol sucker to stick his nose in somebody else's business" he added, making Tomoyo laugh loudly.

"I will. Have a nice day, and tell Sakura I'll call her again tonight"

"Sure thing. Bye Tomoyo"

"Bye Syaoran!" after hearing the click that signaled the end of the call, Syaoran hung up too and smirked at Sakura, who was sitting on top of him with her hands on her hips.

"I can't believe you did that!"

"Are you mad at me?"

"No…I just…you took me off guard, that's all. I actually…think it was kind of sweet"

"Sweet in a 'well done, Syaoran!' way or in a 'so sweet I can kiss you' way?" he asked, his eyes showing he was hoping she would pick the second option. Sakura lowered herself to him and grinned.

"You be the judge" she said before kissing him deeply.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

Yeah I know, this chapter was a bit weird, but I had to give them some time to relax before all the stuff I've been thinking about actually happens XD I mean, poor Syaoran, I've been really mean to him in past chapters XD He deserved a time out xD

I hope you liked it anyways, please tell me what you think of it!! See ya!!!


	11. Picture perfect

Hey everyone, who are ya?! I know this chapter took longer than usual XD And still it's out soon. I'm starting to visualize the end to this, maybe a couple more chapters, who knows? Oh well, on to the reviews…

**Rubbish** – Yeah I know, Syaoran needs a break from time to time, don't you think? I still don't know how many chapters there will be, but I'll finish it, don't worry XD I know you're not the only one that'll put a price to my head if I don't XD

**YumYumXP** – Yeah they didn't drink as much as they thought they had after all XD Their memories kept coming back. And about Suzumi…you'll find out in this chapter.

**Angelica** – Lol, pure Sakura XD But I understand why you would say that.

**Iceli99** – Oh my god thank you! I'm so glad you liked it! Thanks, good luck to you too, and I hope you still like it after this chapter that'll be somewhat stressful XD

**Everyday-snowangel** – Thank you! I kept it as cute as possible XD

And now on with the story once again!!!

**Chapter 1****1 – Picture perfect**

Syaoran pulled over at his usual spot in the college parking lot. He got out of his car with a slight jump and hung his backpack over his shoulder. He then proceeded to walk happily towards the classroom building, feeling as if he could fly. He felt so light…light as a feather.

_Kinomoto Sakura is my girlfriend_ he thought, his voice sounding a bit squeaky even in his head_ My life is perfect_

Memories of the weekend flooded his mind at the thought of her. His whole body ached to be with her again. He had loved hugging her, cuddling next to her, kissing her…he had loved going out with her, walking through the park, drinking lemonade with her, kissing her under the moonlight…

He soon reached, without noticing it, the classroom where he had his first class of the day. He hurried inside and sat in the first seat in the first row, throwing his back pack over the back of the chair. He crossed his arms behind his head and lifted his feet to rest on his desk, his position looking rebellious and careless.

_Now nothing can go wrong__ now_ he thought with a huge (and kind of dorky XD) grin on his face…

But he would soon learn he was wrong…

…there were always things that could go wrong…

…very wrong.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

**RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!!!**

Sakura sighed. She had been waiting for the bell to ring waaaaaaay longer than it seemed. The last hour had felt like an eternity. She was aching to see him. She couldn't really understand why but Syaoran had invaded her thoughts completely. She had to admit that during their weekend together he had been the most charming gentleman she had ever met. He had treated her to lemonade and walked with her through the park…he had even recited poetry for her under the moonlight beside the lake…it had been almost magical…

Even though she thought it was all too sudden, she couldn't deny herself what she was feeling…

_I think I'm already falling in love with him… _she thought as she finished packing her stuff and hung her bag over her shoulder, standing up and heading for the door. She was about to leave the classroom when someone stood in her way with a determined gaze towards her. Sakura stopped to look at the girl, up and down, registering and trying to remember who she was…long red hair…glimmering blue eyes…

The girl stared at her with her arms crossed in front of her chest, as if waiting for her to recognize her. Sakura's eyes finally showed understanding as they opened wider at her.

"Cassandra!" Sakura asked, making the other girl fall backwards, anime-style. She got up again in a jump and with an annoyed look on her face.

"WHO THE HELL IS CASSANDRA?!"

"Uhm… you?" Sakura replied sheepishly, sweat drop falling from the back of her head, knowing she had made a mistake and hoping it would at least seem funny to her.

"No, I'm not! I'm Suzumi! SUZUMI!"

"Oooooh…. That girl from the party… now I remember…"

"Damn right, I am"

"Well… uhm… hi?" said Sakura, not knowing what else to say to a girl she hadn't talk to before in her life. Suzumi narrowed her eyes at her.

"Kinomoto Sakura, right?"

"Yeah, that's me"

"Are you Li Syaoran's girlfriend?" Suzumi asked, eyes still narrowed and with a tone that seemed to say that she wasn't at all happy at the fact. Sakura gulped.

"Yes, Syaoran is my boyfriend… and I find it weird that you know because it has only been for this weekend…"

"Nevermind how I know"

"But…"

"I have something important to tell you"

"Something important? Is it about Syaoran?"

"Yes"

"Oh my god, is he ok?" Sakura asked, worriedly. Suzumi rolled her eyes in exasperation and sighed, clearly very impatient at the moment.

"Can I have a word with you? In private?" Suzumi insisted. Sakura nodded slightly, a little fearful of the outcome, and then followed Suzumi out of the classroom.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

**RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!!!**

Syaoran leaped up from his seat at the sound, grabbing everything and stuffing it roughly inside his backpack. He knew what that sound had meant. It didn't just mean the end of his last class of the day, it also announced that it was time for him to see his beloved Sakura again. He had been waiting for that moment the whole day, high with anticipation and with a huge smile plastered on his face.

He ran out of the classroom and, to his surprise, he almost bumped into Sakura when he turned right. There she was…the reason for his happiness and joy…and…strangely…she looked awfully pissed.

"Sakura?" he said, a little fearful of the reply. He had no idea why Sakura would be mad at him at that moment, but he certainly wasn't expecting anything nice from that look.

"Why did you kiss her?" she said quickly, apparently not being able to control her tone of anger. Syaoran blinked twice and shook his head (as if he thought he could wake himself up from a bad dream) before answering that question with the only phrase he could manage.

"Kiss who?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Syaoran! I saw the picture!" she yelled. Syaoran was starting to feel very nervous.

"Picture? What picture?"

"The one with you kissing Suzumi!"

"Sakura, I frankly do not know what you're talking about. And who the hell is Suzumi?" he asked, really not remembering who that name belonged to. Sakura reached inside her bag abruptly and pulled out (rather hastily), a picture that looked a little mistreated on the edges. Syaoran took it from her slowly and studied the image portrayed in it, not believing what he was seeing.

"Oh my god…" was all he could say. He started remembering now. He had been so drunk that night…

"So now you remember, uh? Really, it's funny when I think about it. You had told me you were in love with me and all that crap. And the moment I leave, just for a couple of minutes, at that stupid party…"

"Sakura, this isn't what you think…"

"Then what is it?! I think you can see it as well as I can!"

"I…I wasn't planning on doing that! She came to me!"

"Oh yeah, I see how you're complaining there…"

"I was drunk, Sakura!"

"You told me there were two kinds of people that couldn't stop themselves for saying the truth, remember?"

"Saying, Sakura! SAYING! I'm not talking there, am I? And I didn't kiss her! She kissed ME! I'm telling the truth!"

"Yeah, well…I can't really tell right now, can I? Or do you usually take classes while you're drunk?"

"Sakura…"

"Syaoran, I thought I could trust you!" she complained, tears starting to form in her eyes. Syaoran could feel a knife stabbing his heart with every drop of fluid falling from her beautiful green eyes.

"Sakura, please, you must believe me! They had it all planned! She just kissed me once and someone took a picture?! I mean, come on!"

"How can I be so sure that she kissed you just once?! And who's they?!" 

"I don't know, Suzumi and some other person! Really, I'm telling you the truth!" he repeated, desperately trying to mend the situation somehow. He was sure about it now, someone was trying to mess with him and Suzumi had something to do with it…but why?

"I'm sorry, Syaoran" Sakura said, not even trying to stop the tears falling from her eyes "But I can't be betrayed again. I won't stand for it. I deserve better than that"

"Of course you do! I never thought otherwise! Sakura! SAKURA, WAIT!" he yelled at her back as she stormed away from him.

It was only then that he got aware of all the people that had been watching them and turned immediately scarlet. His audience started scattering then, since they seemed to understand there was nothing else to watch there.

Realization of what had happened slowly sunk into him, making his insides turn Sakura…Sakura just left me…

He started walking down the stairs and then towards the library, his gaze empty of emotion, his heart beating as though it found it hard to do so. He entered the library building and went straight to the counter, asking for the keys to a study cubicle. The attendant assigned him a cubicle and, without another word, he walked upstairs to the silent study section. There he used the keys to open the door to the cubicle they had given him access to, entered it and closed the door behind him, locking it. He dropped his backpack on the floor and let himself fall backwards against the wall on his butt.

It was there and then, when he found himself to be completely alone and out of everyone else's reach, that he finally allowed himself to cry in silence, pouring out all of his frustration, not even realizing that he was still holding on tight to that picture that had meant his doom.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

Suzumi ran towards Kaworu, who was sitting peacefully at one of the cafeteria tables, drinking lemonade. The red-haired girl was so excited she could hardly keep it to herself.

"KAWORUUUUU!!"

"Oh my god, you scared me!" reacted Kaworu with a jump, not having seen her friend before she yelled at her. Suzumi just laughed.

"Kaworu, I have great news!"

"News? What happened?"

"Syaoran broke up with that bitch! The moment I showed her the picture and started telling her all that crap…she completely bought it!"

"Oh…" was all Kaworu could say in response, an overwhelming feeling of guilt taking over her. She liked Suzumi a lot…but she felt really bad of what she made her do sometimes. Kaworu had never been too much into hurting people.

"I'm gonna ask him out the minute I see him!"

"Good for you, Suzumi…"

"What's the matter, Kaworu? Aren't you happy for me? Why the sad face? Let me tell you, if it wasn't for you, this would've never been possible! You're so great!"

"Yeah…thanks…"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

Syaoran walked towards his car in silence. With each step he took, he felt more and more miserably. His bloodshot eyes were unfocused, and he seemed to be moving out of mechanical reaction rather than premeditation of where he wanted to go. His mind was filled with emotions, questions and longings, and he was starting to feel that it was too much. He needed to rest.

He was so deep into his thoughts that, being the martial artist he was, he didn't realize someone was following him, spying on him, as if planning something. The shadow of a man was visible for a moment behind a pillar, and a small whisper of hatred was heard nearby…

"Li Syaoran…"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

That's it for this chapter!!! I know, it was kind of short XD Ooooh and I know, poor Syaoran again! This fanfic is filled with his suffering XD But oooh the mystery! Please review and tell me what you think!!! See you!!!


	12. Been thinking

Hey, it's a new chappie once again! Thanks to everyone who has added this story as their favorite, and thanks to everyone that reviews!!! I'll get to answering your reviews before I begin with the chapter.

**Rubbish** – Oh my god, happy birthday!!! Although it's a little bit delayed but it's never too late, right? XD Hope you had a great time! And well, I'm doing my best to finish it XD It won't be over that soon, though…with school and everything…

**Angelica** – I know!!! Syaoran is just too handsome to cry T-T But hey, he really does love Sakura…

**Duckygoesroarr** – Lol, yeah, but I still won't tell who the stalker is. Maybe on the next chappie XD Glad you're having fun reading this!

**Michellekwanluva** – Oh my god calm down XD Fortunately, this chapter will answer some questions. It's good to see some enthusiasm XD And uh…sorry I had to do that to them, for the sake of an interesting plotline.

**YumYumXP** – I know, she is wicked evil!!!! Oh well, mean people always get what they deserve after all…

**Colleenie fo feanie** – I'm so glad you're so interested! I'm still not saying who the mystery man is, though XD But you can know it's a man XD

And now, before I begin, a special announcement:

Today I start school again, so now it'll take me more time to update this story. But don't you worry…really…I intend to finish it…so don't try to kill me please XD Ok, enough said.

On to the story!!!

**Chapter 12 – Been thinking**

It was, again, Friday night, and yet Syaoran found himself completely alone, wandering through a park nearby. Hands in his pockets, he just strolled down the path through the trees, his empty gaze focused on the ground. It had been a week since that night at the party, where his life started and ended at the same time. Something deep within him gave him the certainty that he was never going to find another girl like her. She was the one. He just knew it. Sakura was the girl of his dream, the love of his life…and he had lost her.

The whole week she had avoided and ignored him. None of his efforts to reach her had mattered: She was too determined to part ways with him. He could not help but admire her guts at first, for he thought she had been closing herself to her own feelings. But after the days had passed, he convinced himself that it hadn't been too much of an effort for her to leave him. She had never even loved him. They had gone out for two days, after all…what had he been expecting?

With a frown then, he remembered Suzumi. The nerve of that woman! How dare she come to him after she did?! Seriously, was she brain-dead or something? He still remembered the scene vividly, as if it had just happened moments ago.

**FLASHBACK**

"Hey Syaoran!!" yelled the girl running towards him. Syaoran rolled his eyes. He was half expecting something like this and he was ready for it. He hoped she was too, though, for it wasn't going to be pretty.

"You" Syaoran replied sharply. She seemed to ignore his rudeness and smiled brightly at him.

"Say, Syaoran, I heard you broke up with your girlfriend"

"Yeah, funny how you know and I haven't told anyone, not even Eriol" he replied challengingly, piercing her with his amber eyes. Suzumi's smile faded as she was taken aback by this statement, which she hadn't thought about before talking. But then again, she had never been good at the thinking.

"Well, probably she did!" she blurted, not knowing a better answer for this.

"If she told someone, she told Tomoyo. And Tomoyo is not likely to have told anyone else"

"Well…everybody saw your scene in the hallway!"

"Oh so you know everyone here? Specially the engineering students?" he questioned, making Suzumi frown. Did this guy have a retort for everything?

"Syaoran, I just wanted to ask you out!"

"You don't say!" he replied sarcastically.

"Well, I've had a crush on you ever since I met you…" she said, acting all blushy and shy. Syaoran grunted with disgust. Did she really think he was THAT stupid?

"Drop the act, Hamasaki. I don't care if you're a bundle of hormones that wants to get with the first guy it sees. I have no interest in you whatsoever"

"If you just gave me a chance…"

"No, if you just left me the fuck alone! I know you kissed me that night knowing one of your friends was gonna take the picture! I sure don't need to be a fucking genius to know that! So bold of you to try asking me out after pulling something like that on me!"

"But Syaoran, she was no good for you!"

"And who the hell are you to decide that?! For your information, I'm in love with her! You've just managed to make me miserable, that's all. So get it into your head, nothing is ever going to happen between us!" he yelled finally, storming away from her. For a moment, he stopped dead in his tracks and turned towards her again, anger filling his amber eyes.

"AND IT'S LI TO YOU! Whoever gave you permission to call me Syaoran!"

**END FLASHBACK**

Syaoran dropped back on a park bench and sighed. He had to clear his mind. It was no use holding a grudge against Hamasaki Suzumi because it was only going to keep hurting him, and it was no use to keep loving Kinomoto Sakura because she had made it clear she wasn't gonna forgive him…

But that last thing he knew he couldn't do it. He was so in love with her…

With that, he reached his decision with determination, standing up from the bench in a jump, completely erect as if he had been a soldier whose attention had been called to. With a frown and a small grin, he drew his breath in and released it slowly, as if letting all of his worries flow away with him, leaving only his blind desire to go on.

_Enough whining_ he thought, as though wanting to scream it to the world _I'm not gonna sit around and do nothing anymore! _

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

Monday morning…

Sakura went to her locker, pulling her keys out of her handbag on her way there. She sighed. Everything was so plain without Syaoran…so…unflavored. Yes, that was the word. It sounded awkward when related to a situation but it fit. Life without Syaoran was like eating something with no flavor at all, just eating it because you had to eat to survive, not because you liked to eat it.

She shook her head and chuckled_ I'm going mad, Syaoran got to me too fast._

Finally reaching her locker, she opened it with her key and stuffed her JAVA reference book into it, staring at its black cover for a while…

_Is that book yours?_

Syaoran's voice echoed inside her head, with memories the book seemed to be bringing back to her.

_The Event-oriented programming teacher asks for it._

Sakura remembered how keen he had been with the idea of teaching her how to program with the object-oriented method that she had found so hard to understand at first. Truth be told, he had really helped her out with his advices.

_All of those books are always good purchases for us._

She remembered his smile, understanding and friendly at the same time, as he peeked down at the name tag on her book. She giggled. She had been certain that up until then, he hadn't known her name.

_Hey, if you ever need help, just ask, ok?_

_Of course_, she thought, _He just wanted to get to me_. But the truth was that she could not force herself to believe that. Something in Syaoran's tone had made it clear that he wanted nothing but to honestly help her, without thinking about stuff in return.

_Sakura!_

She remembered the first time she had heard him say her name. Too shy at first to admit he had just blurted it out without thinking, she had thought he looked cute with that faint blush on his cheeks. Men like him were hard to find these days.

_I think you'll feel better once you've told me what happened._

Again, that understanding tone in his voice.

_I… I was worried about you… you know, because of what you told me at the library…_

She wanted to scream, to erase all those memories from her head. How was he doing that to her?! What did she really feel?! She felt helpless as he kept popping up, as charming as always.

_THAT BASTARD! I'LL KILL HIM!_

But, then again…it had been real concern in his voice, hadn't it?

_We can go to my place, then._

She had lied to him. All along, since she opened the door and saw him standing there, she had wanted them to end up as they had that night. She didn't understand why, though.

_Because I'm in love with you!_

She had not believed him at that moment. How could he be in love with her after a few days, when a year had not been enough for Yuusuke to love her as much? But then again, something inside her had told her he was saying the truth.

_You know it's Syaoran to you_

Sakura was starting to realize what had happened. She had been such a bitch to him and yet…he always seemed to welcome her back with that same charming smile of his.

_I love you, Kinomoto Sakura_

Then and there was the first time she realized the real meaning of that phrase. Those words had never been spoken by Yuusuke, her first boyfriend, who she had thought she loved. And yet Syaoran seemed so eager to say them, to announce it to the world…

_What did I do to deserve such a beautiful girl?_

_More like, what did he do to deserve such misery_, she thought. Guilt was starting to flow through her, filling every inch of her, getting to her like pain.

_Sakura, please, you must believe me! They had it all planned!_

Now that she thought about it more clearly…had Suzumi really planned everything? It was no secret she fancied Syaoran, Tomoyo had told her so but she had refused to listen. She had refused to believe that what Syaoran had told her was truth. And still…

"Kinomoto?" she heard a girl say behind her. Sakura turned around to meet none other than Kaworu, whose name she didn't remember but, as she recognized her as Suzumi's friend, did not welcome her all that well.

"What do you want?" she asked rather rudely. Kaworu sighed.

"I wanted to apologize" she said sincerely. Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"What for?"

"Well…for making you break up with your boyfriend"

"I…I don't understand. Why are you apologizing for that? Suzumi's the one that got in the way"

"But it was me who took the picture" Kaworu confessed, looking rather ashamed by the fact "Suzumi planned everything. She told me she would take advantage when Syaoran had drunk too much and gave me the camera to take the evidence. It was just one kiss and Syaoran didn't even seem to realize what had happened…"

"Oh dear…"

"I'm sorry, Kinomoto, I'm really very sorry. I just wanted you to know…and well, I hope it's not too late…" she added, before turning around and walking away without another word. Sakura stood there for a moment, frozen. Syaoran's words made sense now…he had been telling the truth!

Still, she would think about that later…

She turned around to close her locker.

"Sakura…" she heard another voice suddenly behind her, jumping at the sound of it and turning around to face him. She almost felt as if she had summoned him with her thoughts. He had his hands in his pockets, and his pose was timid, his amber eyes gazing at her as if he was about to beg for something.

"Syaoran…" she replied, not knowing what else to say. He started making circles with the tip of his right foot, his eyes averted to the ground, obviously nervous.

"Sakura, I've…I've been thinking…I…" he seemed to be searching for the right words. Syaoran had thought all weekend about what he was going to tell her and yet he found himself at a loss of words in the moment of truth.

"As a matter of fact, I've been thinking too…" she said, before he could finish. His head shot upwards immediately, his eyes meeting hers.

"Really? About what?"

"About…you…" Sakura said, knowing that there was no need to delay this conversation any longer, after all.

"Me?" he asked, clearly taken aback, not having expected Sakura's advance on the situation. He swallowed rather noisily, his anxiousness getting the best of him.

"Well…us…to be more precise…" she corrected. Syaoran blinked twice.

"You've been thinking about us?"

"Am I not saying this in english?" she asked, a slight grin adorning her face. Syaoran chuckled. If she was in the mood for jokes, this couldn't be so bad.

"I'm sorry, I was just not expecting you to say something like that…I thought you were too mad at me…"

"I was" she clarified "But then again…you're not the type of person one can be mad at for too long, you know?"

"Uh?"

"I think I was too harsh and…well…maybe you just deserve another chance" she admitted, granting him one of her beautiful smiles. Syaoran felt like he could melt completely, right there and then.

"Wow…Sakura, I…I wasn't….I mean…what made you change your mind?" he finally asked her. Sakura sighed.

"You've really never given me a reason to doubt you" she admitted. Syaoran could still not believe what was happening. He was kind of confused.

"I…uhm…can I treat you to lunch later?" he asked with a smile. Sakura nodded.

"Sounds good to me. You can explained what happened then. This time I will listen" she promised. Syaoran's smiled widened.

"Shall we meet in the cafeteria at 1 o'clock?" he asked. Sakura nodded once more.

"I'll be there"

"Great!"

"I won't be late this time" she added, with a giggle. Syaoran chuckled.

"Me neither" he said. Then, before leaving, he gave her a quick peck on the cheek, making her blush. She was about to say something but then she noticed he had fled the scene, apparently not so sure if what he had done was the right thing and not wanting to stay to find out. She reached up with her hand and touched the place where Syaoran's lips had touched her and smiled sweetly at the memory.

Perhaps, it wasn't that bad an idea after all.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

Another rather short chapter, lol. Tell me what you think, I wanna know what you guys expect of the story. And also, I enjoy knowing what you think of how it is going so far! Please review!!!


	13. How come he's late?

So now it really took me some time to get this done with XD I'm sorry, I told you, I'm back at school now. But don't worry, I'll keep my word of finishing this story!!! Well, on to the reviews then!

**Rubbish** – Lol, don't worry, it happens XD I hope you still like it, though.

**Angelica** – Yeah, I know, kisses on the cheek are so sweet! Lol, I'm glad you like it so much, I hope you enjoy the rest of the story!

**Michellekwanluva** – In a minute, don't worry XD

And now the story!

**Chapter 13 – How come he's late?**

Sakura got to the cafeteria a little earlier than what she and Syaoran had agreed to, but she didn't care. She could wait.

Putting her bag on one chair, she took the other one and sat down to wait patiently. She could now admit freely to herself that she was very excited about talking to him. Syaoran was a very special guy, after all, and nothing would make her happier than to make it work with him.

She sighed and smiled softly, feeling her cheeks blushing. She remembered the moments they had shared before. It seemed as if being together had to always end wildly for them. Once in his apartment and once in her own place…she wondered how so many things could've happened so quickly between them. Still, she knew Syaoran wasn't just any guy.

Yes, she would wait for him…she knew he wouldn't be late.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

He couldn't believe he was late!

Syaoran ran down the stairs of the classroom building, Sakura being the only thought in his mind. He couldn't believe that today had been the day that the politics teacher decided to keep them in a while longer, rambling on about something he couldn't care less of.

He was practically jumping as he reached the path that led towards the cafeteria, so he almost bumped into him. Someone, who had apparently come out of nowhere, suddenly stood in his way, arms crossed in front of his chest, determined gaze staring at him. Syaoran barely managed to stop in time so as not to run over him.

"Gah! Jeez, watch out! I'm in a hurry!" he complained. The guy in front of him nodded.

"I know. You're going to meet Sakura, right?" he asked. Syaoran was taken aback by this and frowned.

"Wait…how…why do…WHO are you, anyways?" the chestnut haired boy managed to ask in his confusion. The stranger bowed rather weirdly, almost mockingly, with a slight grin on his face. It almost looked evil.

"My name is Yuusuke…I think you've heard of me before" he confessed. Syaoran gasped.

"It's you!"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

Sakura looked at her wristwatch and frowned. How could he be late? Wasn't he interested in talking things over with her? Could he really have forgotten about their agreement to have lunch together? How could he be so insensitive?!

Well, maybe she was overreacting…

Fifteen minutes could happen to anyone, after all…

…it had happened to her before.

She groaned and crossed her arms in front of her chest. She would wait for him. And she had a couple of things to tell him now that he wouldn't like at all!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

Syaoran followed Yuusuke to the back of the staff building. He knew Yuusuke was up to something but he wasn't certain of what would happen. Still, he couldn't just ignore the fact that he was here in Tokyo. And he couldn't just let him wander around and bump into Sakura.

"So…your name is…" Yuusuke asked, not sounding that much interested in the fact, his hands inside his pockets in an arrogant pose. Syaoran could see, though, he was wearing black gloves.

"Li Syaoran" he replied, not very comfortable with being alone with the guy that had hurt Sakura so badly without causing him some pain in return. Yuusuke seemed to be reading his mind.

"Are you dating my Sakura?" he asked, sounding annoyed at the very thought. Syaoran's eyes widened. He wasn't expecting a question like that so bluntly.

"She's not your Sakura!" Syaoran snapped. _The nerve of this guy!_

"Is she YOUR Sakura, then?"

"Why does she have to be someone's property?! Have you no respect?!"

"She's just a woman"

"JUST A WOMAN?!"

"Yes, and she used to be mine before you came into the picture"

"Lucky for her I came, then! To take her away from someone like you! And besides, I did no such thing, you cheated on her!"

"So what?"

"You bastard!"

"What is it with you? You obviously just want your way with her, you just met her"

"You don't know shit about me!"

"Oh, don't I, really? You're a guy after all, just like me"

"I'm nothing like you!"

"So you want me to believe that you're actually in love with Kinomoto Sakura, then? After a couple of weeks of knowing her? Really?"

"I don't give a shit what you believe or don't believe!"

"Whatever…It's not like I care much about your damn feelings, anyways. I'm not here to discuss moral with you. I just wanted to warn you"

"Oh yeah? About what, exactly?"

"Stay away from MY Sakura"

"Or else…?"

"Do you really need to know?"

"Well, it really makes no difference. I'm still not going to walk away just like that" Syaoran replied, anger flowing through him "I won't let you hurt her anymore!"

"How touching" Yuusuke said, an unpleasant smile plastered on his face "I thought you might say that" he added, taking a knife from inside one of his pockets and trying to stab Syaoran, who was quick to move aside and evade the attack.

"What the--?!" before Syaoran could finish his phrase, Yuusuke had taken another knife from his other pocket and stabbed him on the side. Syaoran's eyes widened at him as he felt hot blood flowing from him, dampening his clothes. He started feeling dizzy and he cursed himself mentally for not being able to see that one coming. He had been too confident.

"You…bastard…" were the last words he managed to say before Yuusuke abruptly pulled the knife from him and let him collapse to the floor, face down. His vision blurry, Syaoran could only see Yuusuke's feet getting away, in the direction he knew he would take. He was going to the cafeteria. He had to stop him…

Sadly, all Syaoran could do was extend one hand at him, as if trying to reach something from afar, before he fell completely unconscious.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

Sakura sighed with defeat. It had been almost an hour…how much later could someone be if it was just the distance between the classrooms and the cafeteria? She had to face the truth: Syaoran had just been playing with her. Had he been enjoying it, all this time? Watching her as she slowly began to care about him, just to leave her hanging like that?

Suddenly, her eyes threatened to betray her feelings, right there in the cafeteria. Still, she couldn't cry there! Not in front of everyone!

She quickly picked up her bag and stormed out of the cafeteria, trying her best not to start crying over a man she knew wasn't worth it. Or at least she thought so.

As soon as she got out, though, she bumped into someone familiar. She suddenly was in someone's arms and found herself crying freely, holding on to him in her weakness, pouring her heart out to him.

She knew who he was. Still, she didn't care. She couldn't care. It was him who was there for her….not Syaoran…

"Sakura? Are you alright?"

"Yes...I'm fine…thanks, Yuusuke"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

Syaoran opened his eyes slowly, taking in the light of the room as he did. A face started forming in front of him as his vision started to focus.

"Sakura?" he asked, seeing the girly features and the big eyes staring back at him.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Syaoran, but it's me, Tomoyo" replied the familiar voice of Tomoyo Daidouji. Syaoran could see her clearly now.

"Tomoyo? Where am I?" he asked, trying to get up but feeling a sharp pain up the side of his body. Tomoyo pushed him back down to the bed.

"You're in the hospital, Syaoran. Eriol brought you here"

"Eriol?"

"Yes, he found you bleeding and unconscious behind the staff building. What happened to you?"

"I…I was attacked…"

"Attacked?! By who?!" Tomoyo asked, clearly afraid to think that there was a potential killer at the loose in her college. Syaoran frowned at the memory That bastard…

"It was…Yuusuke"

"Yuusuke?! Sakura's ex-boyfriend, Yuusuke?! Is he here?!"

"Yes…"

"What is HE doing here?! Oh my god, we have to warn Sakura!"

"What? Sakura's not here?"

"No! Eriol and I have been trying to reach her but she's not answering her phone and she's not home either!" Tomoyo exclaimed, scandalized at the thought of Sakura meeting with Yuusuke again. Syaoran got up with a jump and stood up from the bed. Tomoyo tried to push him back.

"Syaoran wait! You're still too delicate, you need to rest!"

"NO! I need to go find Sakura! Tomoyo, please understand! You can't possibly think I'm just gonna sit around here while I know Yuusuke is out there, maybe even with Sakura now!" he responded. Tomoyo didn't know what to answer, and Syaoran didn't bother to wait around and wait for her to say something. He had something important to do.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

Sakura felt uneasy as they neared her house. Yuusuke hadn't spoken during the whole way from the restaurant. She was starting to regret being with him now. She couldn't forget what he had done to her and she knew she was just doing it because she wanted to forget about Syaoran. But was it the right thing to do?

"Is it here?" he asked suddenly, making her jump.

"Oh…yes, it's here" she said, as he pulled over next to the entrance. Sakura sighed.

"Well, thanks…for everything, Yuusuke" she said in a low voice, hardly meaning it, but feeling obliged to do so since he had treated her for dinner and listened to everything she had to say during the day. She was about to walk out of the car when he gripped her arm.

"Wait…Sakura…"

"Yuusuke, I think I need to go"

"No, stay with me"

"Yuusuke…"

"I know you want to stay with me. We belong together"

"What are you talking about?"

"Just leave that Li bastard and come back to me"

"No! You…you cheated on me!"

"It's all in the past now, Sakura" he said, pulling her closer to him as he leaned closer to her "We can start over"

"No…" she whispered, as she saw his face inches away from hers "Yuusuke, it's over…"

"It's not over…you know it…"

"Yuusuke, please, let me go…"

"Come on, Sakura…" he mumbled, getting hold of both her hands and pulling her more to him to smell her hair. Sakura whimpered at this.

"NO! YUUSUKE, PLEASE!" she screamed, feeling his lips trailing her skin from the cheek to the neck and trying her best to get free but failing under his strength. She started crying.

_Syaoran…please help me…_

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

I know!!! VEEEERY short chapter!!! And a cliffhanger, on top of it! But we're now nearing the end of the story!!!! I hope you're liking it, please let me know what you think!


	14. Dirty Fighting

Hello again everyone!!! Wow, so many reviews from so many new people!!! I'm so glad!!! I'll get to responding to them!!!

**Mochachu** – Lol! We'll have to read and find out, I suppose! XD

**YumYumXP** – Don't worry, besides, you ALWAYS review!!! And I appreciate it a lot! I'm giving you special thanks just below this stuff XD And I think I won't take your bet because those guys are mean and it sounds very very possible…

**Rubbish** – LOL! I can't forget school XD (I know it was sarcasm) but I don't have too much homework this week, so I was able to speed things up a bit. Besides, I already had a picture in my mind of everything that was going to happen and I didn't want to risk losing it! XD

**SkyeVerya** – Syaoran's on his way, don't worry! This one will have tons of action!!!

**Lambtastic** – Don't worry, it'll be more like the second. I'm not THAT evil, I've made Syaoran's poor heart suffer enough in this story XD

**Chelsea** – Lol, unfortunately I thought about this fic in a very AU way. It won't have magic…but I already have another one in mind that will! XD I hope that makes you feel better. I'm glad you're liking this one, anyway!

And special thanks to **Rubbish** and **YumYumXP** that seem to never miss an opportunity to review!!! I really appreciate you guys!!! And yeah, I know there are more people who review often, but **Rubbish** and **YumYumXP **are really rare to not review XD So yeah, I think they deserve to be thanked. Oh yeah, and to **Angelica**!!! For her cheering!!! XD

Well then, let's get down to business!

**Chapter ****14 – Dirty Fighting**

Racing through the streets as fast as he could in his car, Syaoran knew he couldn't take any chances. After speaking with Tomoyo, he had grabbed his shirt and stormed out of the place. He had just put on his shirt before getting into the car and going straight to Sakura's place. He had a very strong feeling she was there…

Once he reached the familiar streets he had gone through before to get to Sakura's place, he slowed down and parked his car at the corner of the street. Somehow he knew he had to approach cautiously. If he fainted again from another attack, after all, who would protect his Sakura? He knew it would be a while before Tomoyo and Eriol managed to get there with the help they needed.

_But I'm not going to let you touch her, damn Yuusuke!_

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

Sakura managed to punch his face and was about to reach for the door when he grabbed her arm, forced her to turn around, and slapped her hard on the face. She cried in pain, turning back at him with fear.

"Yuusuke, why are you doing this?! Let me go! Please, let me go!" she pleaded, trying her best to get away. Yuusuke smirked evilly at her.

"Sakura, you and I never got to be REALLY close together when we were dating, if you know what I mean. I'm just asking for my rightful share, that's all" he answered, pulling her towards him again. Sakura turned her face away from him.

"You're insane!! How could you hide your real self all this time?!"

"Come on, Sakura, you liked me once"

"And now I don't understand how that happened!"

"You know I'm handsome"

"Not to me!"

"And you're beautiful…" he said, ignoring her last comment and pulling her by the chin, forcing her to face him and quickly pressing her lips against hers. Sakura couldn't remember feeling more disgusted than she felt at that very moment, the happy memories shared with that man completely forgotten. He was now nothing more than an attacker…a rapist, she was afraid.

Yuusuke was sure enjoying himself when he heard the sound of glass being broken and a pull from the back of his shirt. Sakura leaped back immediately as she felt Yuusuke pull away from her and she soon found out why it had happened: It was him. Syaoran had broken through the car window and pulled Yuusuke from her. Yuusuke growled in frustration and, shrugging Syaoran's hand off, he opened the door and got out of the car to confront him.

Sakura seized the opportunity to get out of the car too, and she found herself looking now at the two guys, glaring at each other as if they meant to kill with their eyes. She couldn't help her heart from beating fast as she realized Syaoran was there for her…he was there to save her.

"You bastard…" Syaoran growled, as Yuusuke took a step forward.

"Oh, aren't you the knight in shining armor of this tale? Must I be afraid of you?" he asked arrogantly. Syaoran's frown became more pronounced as his fists clenched with the strength of his anger.

"If you aren't already, let me give you a reason!"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

Eriol and Tomoyo got into the car hastily. After they had finished explaining everything to the police, they knew they had to be there too.

"Why are you so sure Syaoran went to Sakura's?" asked Eriol as he started the engine. Tomoyo shook her head.

"I'm not! But it's the only lead we have!"

"In that case we must hurry!" 

"Please! Syaoran is hurt and he may not be able to stand a fight!"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

"Syaoran!!!" Sakura yelled, her voice filled with worry, as she saw Syaoran charging against Yuusuke. The coward pulled out one of his knife and tried to stab Syaoran as he approached, but he dodged the attack with what seemed like no effort at all and punched him directly in the stomach, pushing all of his air out and making him cough. Taking advantage of this, Syaoran got up and just stared with disgust, arms crossed in front of his chest, while Yuusuke clutched his stomach and groaned in pain.

"Did you actually think the same trick was going to work with me twice?"

"FUCK YOU!"

"Watch your mouth, man! There's a pretty lady right over there" Syaoran said, winking at Sakura, who blushed slightly at this.

"To hell with her too!"

"If you don't like her, why do you have to stalk her like this?!"

"None of your business!"

"Whatever, like I wanted to know anyways. Even so, I love this woman" Syaoran stated, making Sakura's heart skip a beat. She was dying to tell him that she had figured it out, that she loved him too. But now was not the moment. So she let Syaoran continue his speech "For this reason, I'm afraid I won't allow anything of this sort again. That leaves us with the following situation. You have two possible ways out of this: the easy one and the hard one. The easy one is for you to give up now and wait here for the police to arrive and take your sorry ass into prison where it belongs" Syaoran said, making Yuusuke's head shot up, eyes locking with his, frowning with anger.

"NEVER!" he growled, taking a hold of his knife again and trying to stab Syaoran once more, this time aiming for his throat. Syaoran merely moved to the opposite side and sighed.

"It's the hard way, then" he concluded, sounding slightly disappointed. Yuusuke tried to stab him once more, but this time Syaoran caught his wrist with one hand, pulling Yuusuke towards him and punching him in the face with his spare hand. He then used one of his legs to sweep Yuusuke off his feet, making him fall ass-first to the ground.

Sakura kept watching this, hands clasped over her mouth, scandalized. She didn't like watching Syaoran fight, she was too afraid to see him get injured. _After all_ she thought _I really do love this man…_

She decided she couldn't bare to watch.

"Syaoran! Syaoran, stop, please!" she pleaded. Syaoran turned to look at her and gave her a small, sexy grin.

"Don't worry, I have it under control" he assured, turning then to look at Yuusuke, who was still on the ground, with a look that could've killed him "I'll make sure this bastard never bothers you again, not in his lifetime!" he declared with anger. Sakura then managed to smile. That was right…Syaoran was doing it for her, after all…

But then, something happened that nobody had been expecting…

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

Tomoyo was on the verge of tears. Eriol's nerves couldn't be worse. And the traffic was really not helping…

"MOVE, DAMNIT!!!!" Eriol yelled outside, receiving several impolite responses after that. Tomoyo sighed, releasing part of her stress in the process, and turned to look at him.

"Eriol…You're not gonna make them move by yelling at them, you know?"

"I'M GOING MAD, I CAN'T HELP IT!!!"

"I know, Eriol! They are my friends too!" she exclaimed, placing a hand on his shoulder, trying to make him calm down a bit "And they'll need all of our strength when we get there…so save them some"

"I…yeah, you're right…as always" he said, sighing soundly. Tomoyo allowed herself to smile a bit for a few seconds, just to become serious again immediately. They had to make it in time…

…who knew what could happen to them if they got there too late?

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

"NOOOOOOOO!!!!!" Sakura screamed as none other than Suzumi came from behind and crushed a glass bottle on Syaoran's head, making him faint almost instantly. The boy fell to the ground, face down, with blood coming out of his forehead, completely unconscious.

"Oh, shut up" Suzumi said, throwing the remainders of glass aside. Suzumi did not look like herself. Unlike always, she wasn't wearing make-up or fancy clothes. She was wearing a plain t-shirt, sweat pants and sandals, and she carried a simple bag with her, where she had been surely hiding the bottle she had just used to attack Syaoran.

Yuusuke then got up to his feet.

"Jeez, I thought you were never going to appear" he said, sounding a little annoyed. Suzumi shrugged.

"I got delayed. Besides, who would've though you weren't going to be able to handle him for a couple of minutes?" she said, in an annoying tone, clearly implying he was a good-for-nothing. Yuusuke growled.

"Shut up, woman!" he complained. Suzumi raised an eyebrow and then pulled something out of her bag. Sakura shrieked: it was a gun.

"I'll shut up whenever I want to" stated Suzumi, pointing the gun at Yuusuke, who immediately threw his arms up above his head.

"Hey! Hey! Stop that, ok?! You're the boss!"

"Damn right, I am" she said "Now get the fuck out of my way. All I want is her" she said, now pointing the gun at a very scared Sakura, while Yuusuke stumbled to stand behind Suzumi to stay out of the way. Sakura gave a step backwards.

"Suzumi…why are you doing this?" she asked. Suzumi frowned.

"Why? WHY, you ask?" she responded, as if it was so obvious why she was acting like a complete freak "I'll tell you why! You stole that man from me, that's why!"

"That man?" Sakura repeated, dumbfounded. She then turned her gaze towards the unconscious Syaoran on the ground "Syaoran was your boyfriend?"

"No, he was never my boyfriend! THANKS TO YOU!"

"I…I don't understand…"

"If it wasn't for you, he would've never turned me down! NO MAN HAS EVER TURNED ME DOWN BEFORE!"

"But…but why does it have to be Syaoran?"

"Because it's what I want! AND I ALWAYS GET WHAT I WANT! Everything was going just perfect after I managed to get that picture and show it to you!" she complained. Sakura gasped.

"So it was true! You framed him!"

"Of course I did! But it was only for his own good!"

"What do you know about what's good for Syaoran?! You disgusting bitch!" Sakura yelled, clasping her hands over her mouth immediately after that, remembering Suzumi had a gun pointed at her. Suzumi's eyes widened at her.

"Oh…so I'm a disgusting bitch now? Funny how that's exactly what I think about you" she said, clearly pissed at her statement. She raised the gun at Sakura more firmly "It's good to know you're not going to be around anymore to interfere with my plans"

"No…no, Suzumi, please…"

"Go to hell"

"NOOOO!!!!!"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

Eriol parked the car just a street behind Sakura's. That's when they both heard the gun shot. Tomoyo gasped.

"Oh my god, that was a gun!"

"Run! I hope we're not too late!" said Eriol, starting to run towards the sound "And stay behind me, I don't want you to get hurt!"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

Sakura had closed her eyes and then she heard the gun shot. She waited for it to come…death. She thought maybe it wasn't that big a deal. She would just stop feeling…maybe she wouldn't suffer that much either. She thought of Syaoran and how she regretted not being able to be with him one last time, kiss him good-bye….

And that's when she felt a hard nudge on her shoulder that threw her to the ground.

She opened her eyes and looked around quickly. She wasn't hurt…but what had happened then?

"OH MY GOD!!!" she heard Suzumi yell. That's when she noticed someone laying next to her. She turned towards the person and gasped: It was Kaworu. Everything made sense to her now. Kaworu…she had interfered. She had saved her life!

"No…Kaworu…why?" Suzumi said, dropping to her knees, tears flowing from her eyes. Sakura went towards Kaworu and lifted her head, placing it gently on her lap for her to be more comfortable. She could see the wound on her chest, bleeding, soaking her clothes and Sakura's, but she didn't care about that.

"You saved me" Sakura said, as she couldn't find words enough to thank her. Kaworu smiled slightly.

"Someone had to do it. You're just an innocent person trapped in a really big mess" she replied, right before she couldn't bare the pain anymore and fell unconscious. Sakura felt her eyes getting watery at this, but then her attention was caught by something else.

"Suzumi…" she whispered, seeing as Suzumi had put the gun inside her mouth. Her eyes widened "SUZUMI! WAIT! WAIT, DON'T!"

But she didn't listen…

And that's the gun shot Eriol and Tomoyo heard when they arrived.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

As they approached, Eriol saw a guy running towards them. Tomoyo gasped.

"It's him! It's Yuusuke!" she said. Eriol rushed towards him and caught him, trying hard not to let him go as Yuusuke struggled like crazy.

"You're not running away anytime soon, you fucking murderer!!" Eriol yelled at him.

"It wasn't me! I sware it wasn't me, it was her! She fucking killed herself, man!" Yuusuke kept saying. Tomoyo couldn't bare it anymore and ran towards Sakura's house by herself, ignoring Eriol's warnings from behind her.

As soon as she reached them, she understood Yuusuke's words, the horrid scene before her making all the color drain from her face.

Without glancing any place else, she ran towards Sakura, kneeling next to her and hugging her comfortingly. Sakura was crying loudly and, for the looks of it, she had more than one reason to be doing it.

"It'll be alright now, Sakura" Tomoyo comforted, stroking her hair "It'll be alright"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

Woooooooooooo!!!! Lot's of action!!!! Please R&R!!! Wanna know what you think!!! And we still have a couple more chappies to go!!!


	15. After the storm

Hi hi!!!! I'm back with the next chapter!!! And now I think I have like a ton of reviews to answer XD Nevertheless, I WILL answer them, because…I don't know, I like doing so XD

**SkyeVerya **– I feel honored that you think that! That means it actually made the impression I was looking for XD It's good to know! And I'm glad you liked it, too.

**Chelsea34 **– Hey! Sorry, didn't mean to freak you out XD I'm glad you liked it, and you'll know what happens with Kaworu in this chapter, don't worry. I'm still thinking of a good name to my new story, though. That's why I haven't posted the first chapter (well, that and because I'm not done yet XD). So I can't tell you when, but I think it'll be soon.

**Rubbish **– So nice of you to say that! Luvya too!

**Shallow Hearts** – I hope you have time to read the rest soon, thanks for reviewing!

**YumYumXP** – I know, Syaoran and his flirty mood, right? XD Anyways, yeah, it was a sad scene but it had to be there, and I'm glad you found the imagery good, I'm making and effort.

**Angelica** – Lol, it's ok XD And well, yeah, I don't want it to end either because I like this story very much, but I have to end it or else it will get boring XD

**Cherry Akira Li** – Thank you very much! I'll keep it up!

**Angel **– I'm glad you find it interesting, I hope you still do!

**AngelEmCuti** – I'm so flattered, thank you! I hope you like the rest of it as much!

**Sakura-chan Master of the Clow** – Lol, that's one long nickname, but a cool one XD Don't worry, you'll get your answers right away!

Thanks to everyone that reviewed!!! I appreciate it a lot!!! Really!!! Oh, and before I forget! The song I'm using at the end is **Iris** by the **Goo Goo Dolls**.

**Chapter 15 – After the storm**

Kaworu opened her eyes slowly, feeling a terrible headache tormenting her. She felt dizzy and her eye sight was kind of blurry.

"You're awake!" she heard someone exclaim to her right. Turning her head towards that direction, she found a very cheerful Sakura sitting on a chair besides her bed. She could see where she was now: she was in a hospital room.

"Sakura…it's nice to see you" she said with a weak smile. Sakura beamed at her with a huge and sincere smile.

"It's great to see you awake, too. How do you feel?"

"Well, I'm not in the greatest of shapes, you can imagine. But I'm alright. I'm a bit dizzy but I suppose it's the least I should worry about, right?"

"You're fine, Kaworu. The bullet didn't touch your heart. It was really near, though. You were very lucky" Sakura explained with a serious face. Kaworu nodded.

"I assumed as much"

"I'm so happy you're ok! I thought you would die…I was really worried about you"

"You shouldn't have worried so much…we hardly know each other…"

"That doesn't matter! You saved my life! I'll be forever grateful with you! And I would really love it if we could be friends!" Sakura said cheerfully, taking Kaworu's hand with hers, showing her support and appreciation. Kaworu blushed slightly.

"That's so nice of you…"

"So…can we be friends?"

"Sure…I would love it"

"That's so great!" Sakura exclaimed. Kaworu sighed _I guess I made the right choice. Someone like her…as pure-hearted and innocent…she didn't deserve anything that happened to her…_

"By the way, Sakura…" Kaworu hesitated a little before actually asking the question that had been bugging her since she woke up "What happened to Suzumi?"

Sakura jumped with surprise and then lowered her sight to her feet, her bangs covering her eyes with their shadow. Kaworu sighed.

"I'm guessing nothing good" she added. Sakura shook her head.

"I…I tried to stop her but…s-she wouldn't listen…" Kaworu saw the tears starting to flow down her cheeks and worried even more.

"Sakura…"

"I'm sorry, Kaworu! Suzumi…she…she killed herself…" Sakura finally said, her sobs being the only sound that filled the room now. Kaworu stared at her, her eyes widened and without blinking, her mouth partially opened in surprise. The silence was so disturbing that Sakura actually began to tremble a little.

"Oh my god…" Kaworu managed to say. Sakura kept crying as silently as she could, while Kaworu recovered her sense of things.

"Sakura…don't cry…it wasn't your fault…" Kaworu said with a small smile. Sakura cleaned some of her tears and then looked up at her once more.

"I just never want people to die…I'm sure Suzumi wasn't such a bad person…" she said sadly. Kaworu nodded.

"At least now she's at peace finally" she commented. Sakura nodded once and then managed to smile a little.

"I hope she is…like my mom" she said. Kaworu smiled again.

"And tell me…how's Syaoran?" she asked, trying to change the subject. Sakura sighed, finally calming herself down.

"He's alright too. He was still unconscious when I went to visit him, but they told me he woke up just an hour ago"

"Shouldn't you be with him instead of me?"

"His mother and sisters are with him right now. I really don't want to interfere with a family reunion. Besides, you needed visiting too" Sakura explained with a bright smile. Kaworu nodded.

"Thank you, Sakura. And tell me…what happened to that other guy?"

"Oh, you mean Yuusuke? Eriol caught him while he was trying to flee, so when the police got there, they took him in"

"So he's in jail now?"

"Yes, on the charges of attempted rape and murder accomplice. I think he'll be there a long time"

"Well, that's good to know" Kaworu said, just as the door to the room opened, revealing Tomoyo and Eriol. Tomoyo was carrying a big flower bouquet.

"Kaworu! You're finally awake! So good to know!" Eriol exclaimed.

"This is for you, I'll put them down on the table" Tomoyo said, putting the flowers down nearby.

"Thanks, guys. I don't know how to thank you" Kaworu said honestly. Tomoyo giggled.

"Saving our Sakura-chan was more than enough" she said. Kaworu smiled once more. She had a nice feeling inside her…she had the feeling she was going to enjoy the new company.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

"SYAORAN!!!" Sakura yelled, bursting into the hospital room. Sadly, she had been too late. The room was empty.

"Oh my…Syaoran already left…" Tomoyo said as she entered the room.

"What?" Sakura asked, fear clearly sounding along with her voice.

"It seems he has gone back to China for a while. His sisters were talking about it, but I never thought it would be so fast" Tomoyo answered.

"The nerve of that guy…she didn't wait to see Sakura" Eriol said, standing just behind Tomoyo. Sakura sighed.

"Well…if that's what his family wanted…"

"Don't worry, Sakura, he'll be back in a couple of weeks. His mom is just scared she almost lost her only son. He's the heir to the Li clan after all" Tomoyo assured, patting her on the back. Sakura nodded.

"Oh, Sakura, you have company" Eriol announced, as Fujitaka and Touya entered the room, looking worried.

"Sakura! You're alright! We came as soon as we could!" Fujitaka exclaimed, hugging his daughter as if fearing someone might take her away from him. Sakura sighed.

"I'm fine dad…I had help…"she said with a hint of melancholy in her voice.

_Syaoran…I want to see you again…_

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

_**And I'd give up forever to touch you  
Cause I know that you feel me somehow  
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be  
And I don't want to go home right now**_

The wind was blowing soothingly through his hair, while Syaoran just leaned against the stone handrail, staring at the pond, watching the golden fish swim in it with no care in the world. He had always found it peaceful to just stand there, listening to the wind and to the exotic birds singing, no other noises interrupting him, leaving him free to his thoughts. The gardens of his home

_**And all I can taste is this moment  
And all I can breathe is your life   
Cause sooner or later it's over  
I just don't want to miss you tonight**_

He raised one hand and touched the bandages that were wrapped around his head, covering his forehead and giving his hair an even messier look than the one he usually portrayed. He sighed. It hadn't been as bad an injury as the bandages made it seem. His shirt was actually covering the bandages that protected his most delicate injury: the one Yuusuke had made with his knife.

_**And I don't want the world to see me  
Cause I don't think that they'd understand  
When everything's made to be broken  
I just want you to know who I am**_

He growled under his breath as he remembered that damned name. He cursed and was mad at himself for not being there for Sakura as he should've been. He had fainted. He didn't even have the chance to see who it had been. Still, he had been told the whole story by his sisters, who claim to have asked Tomoyo about it. He didn't really care, as long as Sakura was ok…

"Xiao-Lang…" he immediately stood straight at hearing his mother's voice behind him. Sometimes it bothered him too much not to be able to feel her presence as she approached.

"Mother…what brings you here?" he asked, since he hadn't been expecting company in the gardens. The elegant woman walked towards him and stood in front of her son, her eyes seeming distant.

_**And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming  
Or the moment of truth in your lies  
When everything seems like the movies  
Yeah you bleed just to know your alive**_

"I have come to make you a proposal"

"What kind of proposal?" 

"I want you to come back to China…and stay here"

"What?" Syaoran was taken aback by this sudden turn of events, especially in his mother's opinion. His mother had been the one eager to send him away, as she claimed it would hold valuable experience to be on his own for a while and he needed to grow up not just physically, but mentally too. This, however, was contradicting.

"I can make the arrangements in no time. You can finish college here. There are some good universities here too, so that won't be a problem. And you can keep living here with me and your sisters"

"But, mother…why are you telling me this? I thought you wanted me to learn something by going to Tokyo…what-?" he wasn't able to finish his sentence, for his mother had thrown herself at him, wrapping her thin arms around his neck, burying her face in his shirt.

"I know what I told you before…but you're not just some boy that happens to be the heir to the Li clan. You're Li Xiao-Lang, my son" she said, her voice sounding weak "I was so afraid I would lose you…I don't want anything to happen to you…" she confessed. Syaoran smiled gently and hugged her.

"I understand how you feel…but I don't think running away is the solution" he replied. His mother pulled away from him and gazed into his eyes.

"I didn't mean it like that"

"I know you weren't talking about me running away, but that's what it would be nonetheless. I don't want to run away from reality"

"Xiao-Lang…"

_**And I don't want the world to see me  
Cause I don't think that they'd understand  
When everything's made to be broken  
I just want you to know who I am**_

"Mother, all my life, I have been safe, here inside the mansion. You have always been there with me and, even though I grew strong, I was never able to face the real dangers of a normal person's daily life. I don't want to be inside a protective bubble forever" he said, with a huge grin on his face "I want to face whatever comes at me! I know I'll be able to take it, but I will never know how if I don't try. Please mother…let me go back to Japan. Let me go back to Tokyo" he pleaded. The woman stared at him with her eyes wide and a disbelieving expression on her face.

_**I don't want the world to see me  
Cause I don't think that they'd understand  
When everything's made to be broken  
I just want you to know who I am**_

"This…is what you want?"

"Not just this. I have other reasons to go back"

"Other reasons?" she wondered. Syaoran blushed a little, but smiled confidently.

"The girl…no…the woman I love…lives in Japan" he confessed. With this, his mother smiled, her face recovering its wise facade, her features softening.

_**I just want you to know who I am  
I just want you to know who I am   
I just want you to know who I am**_

"Xiao-Lang…I think I was so busy with my own worries that I never noticed how much you'd actually grown. I'm so proud of you"

"Thank you, mother" Syaoran said, lowering his head a bit with respect.

"You shall go back to Japan, then, as soon as your wounds have healed enough for you to travel back alone" she decided, making his smile widen.

"Thank you. I won't disappoint you" he assured. His mother smiled.

"I know, Xiao-Lang. I know"

_**I just want you to know who I am**__**… **_

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

I know, sappy chapter XD There will be one more and that's it, I think. Unless you guys want an epilogue. You know, like…what happened some time later…Let me know! XD Please review!


	16. Next time I fall

HEEEEEEEEEEEEY!!!! This is officially the last chapter!!! After this it'll be the epilogue and THAT'S IT!!! I gotta tell you…I really did enjoy writing this.

Anyways, in other news, I already published another fanfic. It is called Rivalry VS Love and, as I said before, it'll be more adventurish and involve Sakura's and Syaoran's magic, because I felt like making one of those now. The first chapter is up for anyone who wants to give it a try.

And now to the reviews

**SkyeVerya** – Yeah, I couldn't kill her, she had been so nice in the end, after all. And of course, Syaoran can't leave his one and only love XD I'm glad you liked it!

**Cherry Akira Li** – Thank you, and glad you liked it!

**Eien.Rain** – Of course, as soon as I can XD

**Anjuliet** – I'm sorry, I know how you feel, I had a friend that killed himself, too. Not that way, but still…I know what you mean. I'm glad you enjoyed it nevertheless.

**Rubbish** – You're welcome!!! And sure, they'll be an epilogue. It has to end, sadly, but I'll keep writing other stories, in case you wanna read them XD

**Angelica** – Lol, then I'll write and epilogue XD Thank you for your compliments!!!

**YumYumXP** – Lol, I know, pretty deep stuff, uh? Syaoran's so cool!

**AngelEmCuti** – Thank you, right away! XD

**KamichamaKarinLover25** – Of course!! Hope it was soon enough!! And thanks for reading Rivalry VS Love!

Oh my god it has gotten tiring to answer all the reviews XD But I still love them, though!

Well, before the chapter starts, the song used in here is **Next time I fall in love **by **Peter Cetera**. And oldie…but I just love it.

And now to our ending…

**Chapter 16 – Next time I fall**

Looking out the window, Syaoran wondered what Sakura would be thinking of him now. It had already been a week since their incident with Suzumi and Yuusuke. He wondered if she was mad at him for fainting and leaving her alone with those monsters. He wondered if she could ever forgive him for that. It's true that it hadn't been his fault, but still…that's just the way he was. He couldn't stop blaming himself of everything.

He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. The flight would still be a while longer and he wanted to have energy when he got there. He couldn't delay his meeting with Sakura any longer. Besides, she didn't know he was going back and he wanted to take advantage of his element of surprise.

_**Love like a road that never ends  
How it leads me back again  
To heartache  
I'll never understand **_

He wondered if she was even thinking of him…

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

_**Darling, I put my heart upon a shelf  
'Till the moment was right, and I told myself**_

Sakura leaned against the window of her room and sighed. She still had another hour before her first class of the day and she didn't feel like doing anything while she waited. She had been like that since Syaoran left. The usually enthusiastic Sakura had been gloom, melancholic….

_**The next time I fall in love  
I'll know better what to do**_

She wrapped her arms around herself, in front of her chest, feeling cold…that coldness that Syaoran had left her with.

_**The next time I fall in love  
Ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo  
The next time I fall in love**_

_I wonder if he even thinks of me now…._

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

Syaoran couldn't really get himself to sleep. Images of Sakura kept flooding his mind, memories, all happy and sad, all of them decided to come back to him…

_**The next time I fall in love  
It will be with you**_

He sighed. He had made the right decision not to stay in China. He was positive about that.

_I could never live without her…_

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

Sakura sat on her bed and let herself fall backwards on it, staring blankly at the ceiling and reviving in her memory all the moments she had had with Syaoran, allowing herself a small smile.

_**Now as I look into your eyes  
Well I wonder if it's wise  
To hold you like I've wanted to before**_

_I need him here with me…_

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

_**Tonight I was thinking that you might  
Be the one who breathes life in this heart of mine **_

Syaoran ran a hand through his hair in confusion. He wanted to sleep, to be able to get rid of all the thoughts. Still…he didn't want to stop thinking about her. Heck…she was the reason he was in there at that exact moment…_****_

The next time I fall in love  
I'll know better what to do 

"We're now arriving to our final destination, Tokyo's International Airport. The plane will now begin its descent, and we ask that you please buckle your seatbelts and…" came the voice from the speaker, and that's all Syaoran really listened to. He felt his heart race as he realized he was finally there.

_**  
The next time I fall in love  
Ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo**_

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

_**  
The next time I fall in love  
The next time I fall in love  
It will be with you **_

Sakura walked out of her house and towards the school, her bang clinging to her arm, her gaze distant. She knew it was going to be just another day…another day of being with herself.

_Syaoran…_

She wondered if he would ever come back.

_In the end…I was nev__er able to tell him that I love him…_

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

Syaoran sat impatiently on the back seat of the cab, not wanting to wait another second. He wanted to see her so bad!

_Sakura…please wait for me…__****_

Next time I'm gonna follow through 

"We're here, sir" the driver said. At hearing this, Syaoran tossed him the money for the ride and jumped outside, still carrying his backpack where he had everything he had taken to China. He had obviously not gone to his apartment first. He had to see her. And he knew she had class.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

Sakura walked down the corridor, next to the library, remembering the day Syaoran had helped her out with her programming homework. She had been so naïve…

"SAKURA!!"

_**  
And if it drives me crazy  
I**__**…**_

She looked up at hearing that very familiar voice and froze with shock. It was him. Against all odds it was him, right there, standing in front of her, his breath heavy from running.

"Syaoran…"

… _**will know better why…**_

"I'm sorry for leaving" he said, greeting her with that sexy and mischievous grin of his. That grin that was meant for her. Just for her.

"SYAORAN!!!" she yelled, dropping her bag and running towards him, wrapping her arms around his neck as she reached him.

_**  
**__**…The next time I try  
**_

Syaoran lifted her into the air and spun her around a couple of times, the sound of her giggles filling his ears. That wonderful music…he had missed it so much…

He placed her back down and hugged her tightly to him. Sakura did the same, tightening her grip around his neck.

"Sakura, I'm so sorry. I fainted and left you there with those guys, I'm so so sorry…" Syaoran whispered into her ear as he hugged her, not ever wanting to let go. He felt as if she could be taken away from him if he did.

_**  
The next time I fall in love  
I'll know better what to do **_

"Don't be silly!!! I never blamed you for that!"

"Really?"

"It wasn't your fault"

"I couldn't protect you, Sakura…"

"Syaoran, I'm just so glad you're back!"

"I'm so glad to see you again, too…"

_**  
The next time I fall in love  
Ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo **_

"Ne, Syaoran…" Sakura started saying, pulling away slightly to look at him. Syaoran gave her a questioning look, which was mixed with the disappointment of having to let her go a little from the embrace he had her in.

"What is it Sakura?"

"I have something to tell you" she said, her cheeks turning a deep shade of red. Syaoran blushed too, his heart beating even faster than before. Somehow, he felt he knew what she was going to say.

_**  
The next time I fall in love **_

"I…I love you…Li Syaoran…" she said, following his original phrase with her whole name in it. Syaoran felt his heart explode with emotion at hearing this.

_**  
The next time I fall in love **_

"I love you too, Sakura…God, I love you, SO MUCH!" he replied, leaning down and crashing his lips against hers, kissing her with all the sentiment he had for her.

Everyone was watching them, but for them, they were alone. Alone in their own world, where they could be together…

_**  
It will be with you**_

Forever…

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

I knoooow!!! It was short! But this chapter had to be like this. I hope you liked it!!! There's still the epilogue to look forward to!!! Eriol and Tomoyo will be mentioned, including Kaworu too of course. Please review!!!


	17. Epilogue

HELLOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! I'm sorry and at the same time happy to say that, after you read this, Friend of a Friend will be officially over! I really did like writing it. And now I'm writing a more magic-involving story called Rivalry VS Love, which I would love to get more reviews of since it is a far more complex story than this one, with all the adventure and drama scenes. I hope you enjoy it as much as you have enjoyed this one!!!

Anyways, on to the reviews

**EvilDunkin-Sama** – You think it was different? I hope not in a bad way. Yeah, maybe it wasn't that much of an ending, but that's what the epilogue will cover up for, at least XD

**WhenItAllFallsApart93** – I'm so glad to hear that! Thank you!

**Fluffieluver** – I don't think I can make a sequel from this, but I'm writing a new story, as I was saying before. Maybe you like that one too :)

**SkyeVerya** – Wow, really? You think it was that good? I'm so glad. I love that song, it's so emotional…so I tried to make the chapter highly emotional too. And yes, it's the end…but it had to end, sometime, right?

**KamichamaKarinLover25** – I'm sorry it couldn't be too soon, a lot of schoolwork got in the way, but here it is.

**Angelica** – Lol, no, I don't think more than one epilogue would be literally correct, but I hope you enjoy this really long one XD

**Cherry Akira Li** – Well I'm writing more, if that's what you mean. Sadly, this came to an end already. Thanks:)

**Everyday-snowangel** – I'm so flattered, thank you!!!

**Angel** – I' sorry I couldn't update as soon as before, and sorry I have to end it, but I can write more stories :)

**Rubbish** – Lol, Sakura is 19 and Syaoran is 21. Thank you for reading Rivalry vs Love, by the way, since it hasn't been that much of a hit XD But I'll keep writing it because I really love it! And thanks for going through the effort of writing in Spanish! I really appreciate it!

**Mochachu** – Yeah, it had to have a happy ending. And so glad you like it!

**Jennycuenca** – I make an effort to make it interesting, after all :)

**Michellekwanluva** – So sorry I couldn't finish the epilogue as soon as all of the other chapters, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. And I hope you had fun on your trip.

**AngelEmCuti** – Thank you:)

Wow, those were a LOT of reviews!!! Thank you!!! Thanks a lot to everyone that reviewed, it makes my work be worth the while!!! And now, to the story!!! The last part!!!

**Epilogue**

Syaoran was sitting uncomfortably in front of the computer, tapping on his mouse anxiously. He was inside a medium-sized office, at a rather neat desk with piles of paperwork next to the monitor of his computer, some pens and pencils inside a small metallic bucket standing on one corner of the desk and some picture frames scattered here and there.

One of those picture frames held a picture of all his sisters standing behind him, his mother on one side standing alone with a mysterious smile. Another one of those pictures was one of him and Eriol, cheering with beer at some pub they had been to. And the rest of the pictures held cheerful images of him and Sakura, just hugging, looking at each other, smiling at the camera, kissing… he couldn't get enough of those.

But right then he wasn't focusing on the pictures, but on the screen of his desktop. The last lines of code wasn't making any sense. _Who the hell typed this code? Is this some kind of joke?_

He looked rather serious as he was, with the dark green dress shirt and black formal pants he was wearing, his messy hair adding up to his image in a very classy way. Yes, classy.

"Syaoran!" exclaimed Eriol suddenly, bursting into the office without even knocking. He was wearing a light blue dress shirt and jeans, since it was Friday and he always argued that Friday's had to be less formal at work than any other normal day. Syaoran didn't even look at him.

"I'm busy, Eriol…"

"But Syaoran-"

"Get the fuck out of here"

"Syaoran!"

"I said get the fuck out, Eriol"

"LI SYAORAN!"

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY OFFICE!"

"So I take it you're not going to Sakura's graduation, then" Eriol added simply, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Syaoran's head shot up, his eyes widened at him.

"WHAT TIME IS IT?!"

"2:45pm"

"SHIT!" yelled Syaoran, jumping up from his chair and grabbing his black coat, quickly putting it on "WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU TELL ME IT WAS THIS LATE ALREADY?! ERIOL, YOU GOOD FOR NOTHING!!!"

"I kinda tried, you know…" Eriol said, rolling his eyes at this question "Jeez, you knew it was today, after all…I mean, Tomoyo's was yesterday…"

"Oh, just shut up, you four-eyed weirdo!"

"Uh…someone's in a cranky mood today…and I thought my last lines of code would cheer you up"

"IT WAS YOU?! I'LL KILL YOU!"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

"Oh Sakura you look so lovely!!!" Tomoyo exclaimed, holding up her video camera as Sakura put on her hat (you know those hats that go with the graduation outfit? I'm sorry, I don't know the word in english…but if you would like to know, in spanish it's birrete xD…yeah, maybe you don't care…)

"You think so? I feel kinda silly…"

"Nonsense, Sakura! It's your graduation! You're like the least silly you could ever be! Besides, you always look lovely wearing anything!"

"Thanks, Tomoyo. Is Syaoran here yet?"

"No honey, I'm sorry…Eriol isn't here either"

"Oh my god, I hope I told the date right…"

"Well, I'm sure as hell Eriol knew it was today…and they work together"

"Yeah…"

"Oh well, I'll go take my seat. Don't worry, Sakura, I'm sure they'll be here any minute now. Relax, this day is about you after all" Tomoyo said with a bright and charming smile for her best friend. Sakura nodded, returning the smile.

"Ok, I'll try. Thanks again, Tomoyo"

"You're so welcome, Sakura darling"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

"Hey Tomoyo! Over here!" Tomoyo looked around when she heard someone familiar mention her name and then noticed her. It was Kaworu, sitting at the front row, three empty seats next to her. Tomoyo rushed towards her and took a seat right by her side.

"Kaworu! So glad you could make it!"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world! I had to come to Sakura's too!"

"Yeah, and thanks for making it to mine, too"

"You're welcome. So, where are the guys? Have you seen them? I was saving them some seats too"

"No, I'm afraid I haven't- wait…There they are! ERIOL!" Tomoyo yelled as she saw them running towards them, making their way through all the people to reach them. Eriol got there first and sat next to Tomoyo, giving her a quick peck on the cheek.

"Hi, beautiful" he said "Oh, hi Kaworu! Nice to see you here!"

"Same to you, Eriol!"

"Hey everyone" said Syaoran, taking the last empty seat, unfortunately next to Eriol. Tomoyo smirked at him.

"I thought you wouldn't make it. Have you thought about how you're gonna…"

"No…not yet, anyways. I think I'll postpone it for tonight"

"The graduation party? How romantic!" Kaworu exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with delight. Syaoran blushed slightly.

"Yeah, well…" he said simply, scratching the back of his head.

"Ssssh! It's starting!" Tomoyo announced, as the graduation music started playing on the background…

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

"Syaoran!!" Sakura yelled, making her way through the crowd of graduated students. Syaoran opened his arms wide to receive the jumping and excited girl coming towards him, embracing her warmly as she reached her destination. He then lifted her from her waist and spun her around, reminding Sakura of that day they were finally reunited after the whole life-threatening situation they had gone through.

"Sakura!!! I'm so happy for you!!" he exclaimed. Sakura giggled as he placed her back on the ground.

"This is so great! I finally made it!" she said with excitement flowing in each and every word she uttered. Syaoran laughed.

"Of course you made it! I never doubted you, not one second!"

"Oh, Syaoran…" Sakura placed her hands on Syaoran's chest and closed her eyes, drawing closer to him, motioning for a kiss. Syaoran was about to wrap his arms around her waist and kiss her like there was no tomorrow, when Tomoyo suddenly popped up into the picture.

"SAKURAAAAAA!!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!" She exclaimed happily, her eyes sparkling with pride, her cheeks flushing. Sakura sweatdropped at this.

"T-Thanks, Tomoyo-chan"

"Congratulations, Mrs. Li" Eriol said, using the nickname he had established for Sakura since she had started going out with Syaoran. Sakura hated to be called a 'Mrs.' when she wasn't even married, and her annoyed face made it funnier for Eriol.

"Oh, will you stop already?" Sakura replied to this, punching him playfully on the arm.

"You look so cute with that graduating outfit, Sakura!"

"Thank you so much, Kaworu"

"Well, you look beautiful in every outfit" Syaoran added, pulling her to him and kissing her cheek. Sakura blushed madly.

"Syaoran…" she started, leaning towards him again. They were about to kiss, when again Tomoyo interrupted.

"SAKURA! We must go now!"

"What?" Sakura seemed taken aback by this statement and the sudden pulling at her arm.

"I must get us ready for the party tonight!! You two, Kaworu! Don't think you can run away from me!" Tomoyo stated, grabbing the collar of Kaworu's blouse as she was trying to silently sneak away from them. Kaworu laughed nervously.

"I guess I can't after all…" she said, sighing.

"Well, we'll see you at the party tonight, boys! We have lots to do!" Tomoyo exclaimed, starting to walk away from them, dragging both girls with her. Sakura waved at Syaoran with her free hand.

"I'm sorry! See you tonight!"

"Yeah…I guess…" Syaoran replied, waving too. Eriol looked at him with a curious expression on his face.

"Don't worry, you have plenty of more time to make out with her after today. Or are you in that much of a hurry? You're no teenager anymore, you know…you're 25…"

"Shut up, Eriol"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

Syaoran stood impatiently near the hall entrance, a very giddy-looking Eriol standing beside him, waving at almost everyone that passed by. It was like Eriol, really…to be that popular. Syaoran had never been that much into making more friends than the ones he needed.

He was wearing a more elegant black suit than the one he used for work, and one that looked far better on him. Under his coat, he was wearing a light green dress shirt, unbuttoned at the top, with a loose black tie around his neck. His messy hair was still there. He had given up on fixing it years ago, after all. He knew there was no helping it.

Eriol, on the other hand, was wearing dark blue pants and a black dress shirt, adding up to a very casual appearance, yet elegant and classy. Syaoran was kind of annoyed at this, since it was Tomoyo's and Sakura's graduation party. _He should've worn something else…_

"Oh there they are! Over here!" Eriol said suddenly, waving towards the entrance. Syaoran turned around slowly, and then, the reason for his everyday happiness came into view. The whole world seemed to stop for both of them right there, leaving them suddenly alone.

To say that she looked stunning would not have been enough for Syaoran to describe what he was seeing. Sakura was wearing a strapless bright pink dress, with a skirt that went all the way down to her ankles, but that had a slit on one side that went up to her thigh, showing one of her legs. She was wearing a dark pink pashmina to cover her shoulders and low heel dark pink shoes. Syaoran smiled at this. She had never liked heels. And he loved her that way, with whatever she wanted to wear. Even those baggy pants and loose shirts she used to wear to classes. Sakura was just too much for him and everything about her was perfect.

"Syaoran-kun…" Sakura whispered, blushing a light tone of pink that gave her cheeks a cute appearance. Syaoran blushed a deeper tone of red.

"Uh…Sakura…you look…so beautiful…" he said. Eriol and Tomoyo exchanged gazes and chuckled. There was no helping it. They had been going out for four years and they still blushed at those kind of situations. That was just the way they were.

"Should we head to our table?" Tomoyo suggested, bringing both of them back to earth. Sakura smiled and nodded.

"Sure!"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

After a very fancy dinner, the party was finally starting. Tomoyo looked dizzy with anticipation.

"Tonight I'll dance until my feet give in!" Tomoyo exclaimed. Eriol nodded and then extended a hand to her.

"In that case, would you join me at the dance floor, mademoiselle?" he asked in an over-polite tone. Tomoyo giggled and took his hand.

"Why, of course, monsieur. So nice of you to ask" she replied in the same tone, and both of them got up and went off dancing, leaving Sakura and Syaoran alone at the table. Syaoran suddenly started to feel a little uncomfortable Is this the moment…? How should I know?

"Uhm…Syaoran…"he heard suddenly, and turned quickly towards Sakura, who seemed a little embarrassed.

"What is it?" he asked. Sakura blushed even more.

"I…uh…I…I love you, Syaoran" she said. Syaoran smiled at her warmly, feeling suddenly at ease.

"You know I love you too, Sakura. More than anything or anyone. More than my own life" he replied. Sakura smiled back at him and they suddenly drew closer towards each other. Sakura closed her eyes and waited as Syaoran lowered more and more towards her. _Sakura…_

"HEY GUYS!" both of them jumped backwards as Kaworu reached them "I hadn't seen you around! Thought you weren't here still!"

"Hey Kaworu" Sakura said with a smile. Syaoran groaned _Can no one just kiss his girlfriend anymore around here??!!_

"Hey…" he replied stiffly. Kaworu sensed what had happened and giggled.

"Oh well, just wanted to say hi, I'll leave you guys. My boyfriend wants to dance" she said, waving at them and turning around to leave. Syaoran seized that moment and grabbed Sakura's wrist.

"Come with me" he said, pulling gently at her as he stood from his seat. Sakura did the same without asking, and followed him through the hall, outside to the balconies. There was no one there, since everyone was inside dancing like crazy, and the view of the moon among the stars in the night sky was something worth of seeing. Sakura's eyes sparked with delight.

"The sky…the sky tonight is so beautiful…" she said under her breath.

"And still, its beauty can't even begin to compare to yours" Syaoran added, making Sakura blush.

"Syaoran…"

"Sakura…there's something I needed to ask you…"

"Yeah…there's something I needed to ask you too…"

"Really?"

"Yeah…but you go first…"

"No, you go first"

"No, you"

"Uhm, I kinda have a REALLY important question…"

"I kinda do, too"

"Oh yeah, what is it?"

"What is yours?"

"But I…I think…"

"No, you should…" they suddenly realized they were making no sense and fell quiet, just staring at each other, fear and excitement flowing through their bodies as they looked into each other's eyes with anticipation. They suddenly couldn't take it anymore and drew a deep breath…

"MOVE IN WITH ME!"

"MARRY ME!" they said at the same time, Sakura the first and Syaoran the second. They were both taken aback by the other's statement and jumped backwards a little, eyes widened with awe. Syaoran raised and eyebrow.

"You…you want to live with me?" Syaoran asked in disbelief.

"Well…you asked me to marry you…isn't it the same?" Sakura responded.

"Well, not the same, but marrying kinda involves living together…" Syaoran hesitated to finish that phrase…he kinda didn't like the sound of the last part and what it would mean for what he had planned…

"…And living together doesn't involve marriage" Sakura added, making it inevitable to run away from the fatidic phrase. Syaoran closed his eyes and frowned.

"Yes, but…what's really important is…what you want…" he stated.

"What…I want?"

"If…if you just want to live together, it's fine with me…we…we don't have to rush into things if we don't--"

"I'll marry you!"

"What?!" Syaoran jumped again, his eyes opening wide at her. He could then see her beautiful childish smile shinning right in front of him.

"Of course I'll marry you, Syaoran! I love you! And only you! And I will never love anyone as much as I love you!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. Syaoran smiled warmly and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I…I'll make you happy…Sakura…"

"No doubts there…"

And with the last glimpse of the moonlight before the clouds floated in front of it, their lips met, sealing a promise of eternity. The eternity they would be spending by each other's side, from that moment on…

…as soulmates…

…and to think they once thought they were just some friend of a friend…

_**THE END**_

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

Waaaaaaa!!! It's finally done!! Please review and tell me what you think! And don't forget to read my new fanfic, Rivalry VS Love! I really like how it's turning out to be!!! But I always need the feedback!!!


End file.
